I run up the stairs trying to avoid the unrelenting cold that has overstayed its welcome and ring the doorbell. As my brother’s friend answers the door, I inhale memories of my childhood and of all the kitchens belonging to the women I loved most in my life – my grandmothers, aunts, but most of all my mother. My brother yells “Bienvenidos!” I walk through a narrow hallway to the back of his new apartment to join him in the kitchen. He’s busy stirring the caldero, a traditional aluminum pot used to make Spanish rice. He’s wearing a red Adidas t-shirt, navy blue sweatpants, flip flops, and a huge smile. He greets me with a hug you can only get from a sibling. I notice the beads of moisture on his forehead and nose as he works.

I ask him what we’re eating. “Arroz con salchichas,” he says. This is a traditional Puerto Rican dish of rice with Vienna sausages. I’m excited.

I recall my brother’s tears of anticlimactic disappointment. As a self-centered teenager, I would stand at the stove and eat all the salchichas out of the pot before my mother was ever able to serve the meal to the rest of the family. “Dinner will be served in a minute,” he says as he hands me an ice cold Corona Extra, which I can tell just came out of the freezer by the shimmery frost still on the neck. He accents it with a wedge of bright green, plump lime on the rim.

The kitchen table is already set and we prepare to sit. His friend talks about his real estate investment in Florida. As usual, without intention, he takes over the conversation. My brother and I just politely listen.

My brother remains at the stove and begins plating like a painter on a canvas. The rice is perfectly moist, and has the fluffiness and familiar hue of orange, only my mother could get. I can taste the careful composition of Sazón, sofrito, and adobo seasonings, as well as the tomato sauce. Steam still streams out of the heavenly cloud which takes up the whole plate. The salchichas are like little Valentines buried inside the rice. Pink and plump. There are so many of them. In his adaption, there’s no holding back on the inch-long delights.

As my brother joins us, I realize we’re eating on the plates I gave him when I got married. Not fancy at all. I remember I bought them at Target as a single woman trying to save money. They still look good.

I go for a second round. It’s warm and safe. It reminds me of the good old times, when life was ahead, rather than behind. “How was it?” my brother asks. “Not as good as Mom’s,” he continues.

“How many times did you make this meal?’ I ask. He says it’s his first. “This is just as good as Mom’s,” I say. And it was.

His friend leaves early. My brother and I remain at his kitchen table and finish our Coronas as he gives me his counsel on love and marriage. He offers me a Mallomar and the conversation moves to whether the graham cracker cookie, crowned with a marshmallow, encased in a sweet hard chocolate shell, is the best cookie ever.

WEEKLY UPDATE

This was how I spent my night this past Sunday, but since I started this blog on Wednesday, I went from 173.5 to 171.5 pounds. This weekend I plan to experiment with a healthier version of arroz con salchichas. I will share this with you on Monday. But you will need to use sofrito. Check out my mother’s recipe below for a very healthy, homemade version of the seasoning.

Homemade Sofrito

Sofrito is used as a base in Latino, Spanish, and Portuguese cooking. Preparations vary. This is a Puerto Rican version, a puree. You can find most ingredients at your typical grocery store.

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Makes about 12 oz.

1 whole garlic
1 Spanish onion
1 bunch of cilantro
10 leaves of culantro
1 green pepper, seeds removed
10-12 ajicitos dulces (sweet peppers), seeds removed
¼ cup water (if necessary)

Peel garlic and chop ingredients, place them in the food processor or blender to create your puree. Add cilantro and culantro at the end after all other ingredients are pulverized. If you find it necessary to add liquid, you may add ¼ cup water.

You can store the sofrito in a glass jar in the refrigerator or a plastic container in the freezer. One great idea my mother shared with me is to use an ice tray in the freezer for easy usage. One to two cubes will suffice for seasoning.

Buen provecho!

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