Two dishes and one feeling - Ecency writting contest

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As soon as I read the contest premise, my childhood Sunday mornings came to mind immediately.

Since we all woke up late on those days, mom would make what she called "breakfast-lunch" because we would have our first meal of the day at 11 am, so that dish came loaded with many flavors.

During the week we would usually have the typical Venezuelan arepa (a cornmeal bun that is filled with anything salty: ham, cheese, meat, chicken, tuna, eggs, etc.) or, if not, cereal with milk.

But Sundays were different. When we woke up, mom was already in the kitchen preparing a little bit of everything, a mix between the arepa of every day, but also there was avocado (palta), grated cheese, scrambled eggs with tomato and onion, stewed meat (in strands) or, if not, fried fish.


jmantilla - wikimedia

It was a day in which we ate until we were fully satisfied, and then we would sit down to watch TV or play calmly.

Since there were no snacks at home, because the next meal was at 7 pm, it was worth it to eat everything so you could hold on for so many hours without consuming anything but water or juice.

Over the years, this menu changed. We were already older and sometimes we left early to do some errand, taking advantage of the noon when some stores opened. So we had breakfast the same way as on weekdays.

But... lunch, which was made in the afternoon, was a mandatory appointment, at least for me, because mom would make soup and not just any soup, it was a mix of flavors that, after I left to form my own family, I wanted to match and it never had the same flavor.

Mom's soup has everything, but with a balance of flavors that can't be beat. It's a dish that can be repeated, because I do it, and if it's left over for the next day, I heat it up and eat it again.


Piotr Miazga - Unsplash

A pleasant memory of this is that, when we traveled from my house to my mom's (about 5 hours away), she would always greet us with that magical soup that took me back to my teenage years and it's something that, even though I haven't had it in 5 years, every time I think about it, all the visual and gustatory memories appear as if I had that delicacy in front of me, warm and waiting to be eaten.

Spanish Version

Al leer la premisa del concurso, inmediatamente se vino a mi mente los desayunos domingueros de mi infancia.

Como ese día todos nos levantábamos tarde, mamá hacía lo que ella llamaba "desayuno-almuerzo" pues hacíamos nuestra primera comida del día a las 11 am, así que ese plato venía cargado de muchos sabores.

Durante la semana solíamos desayunar la típica arepa venezolana, (un bollo de harina de maíz que se rellena con cualquier cosa salada: jamón, queso, carne, pollo, atún, huevos, etc) o en su defecto, cereal con leche.

Pero los domingos era distinto. Al despertar ya mamá estaba en la cocina preparando un poco de todo, una mezcla entre la arepa de todos los días, pero también había aguacate (palta) queso rallado, huevos revueltos con tomate y cebolla, carne mechada (en hebras) o en su defecto, pescado frito.


jmantilla - wikimedia

Era un día en el que se comía hasta quedar plenamente satisfecho, para luego sentarse a ver tv o a jugar calmadamente.

Como en casa no se hacían meriendas, pues la siguiente comida era a las 7 pm, así que bien valía que comieras todo para poder aguantar tantas horas sin consumir más nada que agua o jugo.

Con los años, este menú cambió. Ya estábamos más grandes y a veces salíamos temprano a hacer alguna diligencia, aprovechando el medio día que abrían algunas tiendas. Por lo que se desayunaba de la misma manera que los días de semana.

Pero... el almuerzo, que se hacía a mitad de tarde, resultaba una cita obligatoria, por lo menos para mi, pues mamá hacía sopa y no cualquier caldo, era una mezcla de sabores que ya luego de irme a formar mi propia familia, quise igualar y nunca tuvo la misma sazón.

La sopa de mamá lleva de todo, pero con un equilibrio de sabores que no tiene pérdida. Es un plato que si se puede repetir, pues yo lo hago, y si queda para el día siguiente, caliento y vuelvo a comer.


Piotr Miazga - Unsplash

Un grato recuerdo de ello, es que cuando viajábamos de mi casa a la de mi madre (unas 5 horas de viaje) ella siempre nos recibía con esa mágica sopa que me llevaba a mis tiempos de adolescente y es algo que, aunque ya tengo 5 años que no como, cada vez que pienso en ello, todos los recuerdos visuales y gustativos aparecen como si tuviera ese manjar frente a mi, calentito y esperando ser comido.


Esta es mi participación para el tema de la semana en el concurso de escritura / This is my entry for the theme of the week in the writing contest

Foto/Photo by: jmantilla, Piotr Miazga
Edición/Edited by mamaemigrante@mamaemigrante
Translated and formatted with Hive Translator by noakmilo@noakmilo.

Two dishes and one feeling - Ecency writting contest | Ecency