(by Pacell McCobb)
I come from a big, loud, ethnic, and a-whole-lot-of-eating family. Don’t get me wrong: I don’t want to make us sound greedy, but ever since I can remember, our get-togethers have always been around food. My dad is from Florida, and my mother is from Panama. I was raised about 90 percent of the time with my mother and her family.
My mother is such a great cook, and I love her cooking. I know this love of food and cooking stems from my great-grandmother, who, I am told, would always cook extra just in case a stranger would pass by needing a meal, and they would come. I feel this kind of giving and being generous with food is something of my family’s trademark. Ever since I can remember, my mother has always cooked. When I was a kid, she started a routine of cooking Sunday meals. I loved this, because every Sunday my cousin, my little brother, and I would wait for her to cook, and when the meal was finally ready, we were so hungry we would eat until our heart’s content because she always cooked in large portions just like my great-grandmother.
As I got older, I remember sometimes taking this food from Sunday to school for lunch. When I heated it up, the wonderful aroma filled the lunch area. People would ask me what I was eating, and I’d say nonchalantly (because I was used to it), “Rice and beans, stew chicken, plantain.” Or “Arroz con pollo” (chicken and rice). Or “Chile con carne” (chili). it just depended on what she cooked.
When I went away to school, I missed her cooking, and I missed her. I remember for Mother’s Day, I was broke, and I didn’t have anything but my words, so I wrote her a poem. It said:
Working back to the bone more prone to caring about us her kids than her own
Self-sacrificing hardships struggles trials come her way
But despite that
Within her motivation elevation education emerges to the surface
She is my shero
Crazy insane as she wants to be if the place ain’t clean
Mentally free to see and accomplish the unexpected
Always respected on so many levels
Rebuking devils
Spirituality exudes from her
Intelligent beautiful all that and a bag of chips
She is my shero
Black bold loud attitudinal
Rice and peas, acki and codfish (ground food)
Bakes, arroz con pollo making cooking up a storm
More like a tsunami or a whirlwind
This ain’t the end it’s only the beginning
She is my shero
Always on the go never taking always giving never resting
In all her ways in all her days caring loving
Considerate compassionate sharing what she has with others
The third oldest of her sisters and brothers
God fearing
She is my shero
She can’t stop she won’t stop doing what she does best and that’s being
Selfless Selfless Selfless
Black skin supernatural when she gets ready to go out
This woman looks damn good
She is my shero
Can’t nobody do things like she do
She is my shero
Strong lioness you see
Because she truly is the queen of her jungle
Hear her roar when the place ain’t clean
I said hear her roar when the place ain’t clean
She is my shero
Getting things done doing it right the first time
Worry worth
When daddy left holding down the fort
Always trying to sort things out
Going to the grocery store talking about how she’s gonna be right back
But instead she comes out like ten hours later talking about there was a sale or long line
She is my shero
With God’s help handling things all on her own
And at the same time always checking to make sure we (her children) are okay
She is the epitome of the word mother
I love her
And you mommy are my shero
This is my mother in a nutshell. She has sacrificed so much as a single mother, the sole provider of our household when I was a kid. This is my relationship with her, and I adore this woman.
---
Pacell McCobb is a voice-over artist, writer, and singer who lives in Riverside, California. She can be found on Backstage.
Veronica Hart's Panamanian Arroz Con Pollo
4 lb. chicken thighs and legs
5 c. jasmine rice
16 oz. pitted Manzanilla olives
3 15-oz. cans Del Monte petipoa (canned peas and carrots), drained
4 bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
5 yellow or white onions, peeled and chopped
2 habanero peppers, in small dice
1 1/2 c. soy sauce
1/2 c. corn oil
28-oz. can El Pato Mild Tomato Sauce
In a large pot of boiling water, cook chicken pieces until tender.
Remove chicken, and when cool enough to handle, remove skin and bones, and shred chicken. Set aside.
Wash rice until the water runs clear.
Place rice in pot along with cooked chicken and remaining ingredients.
Add water just to cover the rice, and cook until water has boiled away.
Stir rice, and add a little bit more water.
Cover and continue to simmer until rice is cooked, about 15 - 20 minutes.