new trend

What? Blogging again? That's right.

Maybe this is the best place to blab about what's going on in my mind in terms of my parents moving away. Without further ado...

I'm scared. When I moved out of my parents' place, it was because my mom and I weren't getting along with each other. I left, we had our ignoring-each-other phase, and then our relationship improved a bunch. We both put a lot of effort into trying to accept one another and put our roles (mother/son) first. From that point forward, I always knew I had my parents to look towards for anything I needed. They live like 20 blocks north of my apartment. In a few months they'll be in another country. Clearly living with my brother is in the best interest for us both, but it'll still be weird not having our parents around.

Ever since I started cooking (a little over a year ago), I never actually made a meal for my family. One time I brought over chicken curry leftovers, but just so they could taste a bit of Indian cuisine. Baking, on the other hand, was something they almost expected; back then I felt like I was spoiling them with how many times I brought over banana bread or brownies, but now I feel like I didn't do it enough and have to make up for it. Anyway, tonight I decided to cook for the fam.

I had to pick a recipe that would go a long way (since my dad and brother are human garbage disposals, not to mention how much I can eat if I try hard enough), and something that they don't eat often (Peruvian recipes are 50% of my kitchen repertoire) but nothing too crazy (no curried lentils or mushroom risotto)...so I decided on baked ziti a-la-Mark-Bittman, columnist for the New York Times and national foodie. (Apparently he's won several "Julia Child" awards...what the hell does that even mean?)


The recipe is pretty basic and leaves a lot of room for creativity. I added minced carrots, zucchini and mushrooms, along with Italian seasoning for the meat. Making sure the pasta and the sauce mix well is essential. Ignore the part about letting the meat sit and cook "untouched," as you may end up burning part of it (like I almost did). And I've learned that, with this recipe, the more cheese the better.


I haven't been cooking as much as I used to, and I've decided that needs to change. Also going to make sure I get as many recipes out of my mom's mind as I can over the next couple of months.