We have not met up for so long, and there was a lot of pressure from Alexis on me, about cooking cuban food! I accepted the proposal happily, it has been a while since I soaked black beans, cleaned up yuca, rinsed rice and shredded beef. As soon as I was washing beans while the sweet smell of chopped onions, peppers and cilantro filled my house, I could not help but shed a tear--I rationalized it by blaming it on the onions---; while 2 kgs of tasty argentine meat was boiling next to the beans, slowly my entire apartment in downtown Buenos Aires felt much more familiar then ever, it felt like home, it felt like Habana, it brought back many memories, lots of love and joy.
I could not find yuca, so I opted for tostones as a side dish and bought some platanos. I feared the frying oil smell because last time I made something fried, I had to live with it for a while.
First came Alexis, I think, then Pancho and Sol, who brought with her more plantains and cream cheese, offering an ecuadorian take on tostones. I left her my kitchen and showered and changed, Sosa brought some wine and comilones quickly filled themselves with my favorite cuban delicacies: rice, beans and Ropa Vieja, with Sol's tostones and the house specialty flan de 8 huevos to finish the feast. :)
They left, and I stayed up washing dishes, freezing beans (I made enough for a cuban family, not argentine comilones), and thinking about how much I miss my life in the island. Aside from the hardships of living with very limited access to many things, I spent the happiest years of my life there. Sometimes I do wish I did not leave, but most of the time I try not to think about it.
Maybe it is the Malbec, maybe it is the mind blowing sofrito (no need to be modest about things we do really good, don't you think?) I perfected over the years, I do get nostalgic every once in a while. I am only a human!
