My Meal Moments - Episode 6 - Military Thanksgiving
My Meal Moments - Episode 6 - Military Thanksgiving
Luis Camilo 0:00
Hello, hello, hello and welcome to my meal moments where we talk about all things food and the memories or experiences they bring to our lives. Today, I am joined by Desi who will be sharing her favorite meal moment with us. So why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself and your relationship with Google?
Desi 0:21
My name is Josie. I am 49 years old, I am married. I like to play video games. Yes, and we have cats and dogs and generally pretty relaxed atmosphere at home. And food is a big part of it.
Luis Camilo 0:45
Tell us a little bit about your fur babies. When you bring up the cats and dogs. We're gonna talk a little bit about that.
Desi 0:50
So we have two Chihuahua mixes. Izzy and Buster. They're four years old. And we have two cats. One is five and the other one is two and a half going on three. And they enjoy food as well. Because some things we do share with them.
Luis Camilo 1:07
Yes, yeah. Hey, listen, you can't you can't just keep it all for yourself. The humans don't get everything right. I mean, come on. All right. Awesome. Well, you so graciously said yes. To the invite, which I appreciate. Thank you so much. Oh, absolutely. So today, you are going to share with us a particular meal that you would consider a formative moment or a favorite moment in your life. So you want to go and share that with us. Sure.
Desi 1:34
It's, it is probably one of the most touching memories. So I grew up an army brat. And my sisters and I lived a lot of different places. And my mother was very much aware of the single parents and the single soldiers who are far away from home and couldn't go home for the holidays to spend with their family. So every Thanksgiving, she would make it a point to invite the the single soldiers or the single parents, you know, that had children in my stepfather's unit, and we would have meals with them. And this particular year was a Thanksgiving. And we were living in Germany. And we were living in temporary housing. So not the best housing, but it was, you know, pretty big and spacious. And our dining room was very large. And she spent days cooking. And not just traditional Thanksgiving food because we are Puerto Rican. And so she made a lot of dishes that she was excited to share with them, you know, because a lot of them have not had that kind of food before. And it was just now that I sit back and think about it. The first real example of fellowship. You know, it was generic, you know, and of course, kids are very oblivious. I was probably I want to say about 11 years old. Yeah. So hanging out with the younger kids, I was the oldest, keeping an eye on them. But also having fun board games, talking 80s was not a whole lot to do as far as hanging out with the adults. But the food was definitely a big part of it. And literally, probably six hours of just continuous eating and talking and everybody just being very relaxed and grateful to share a moment with our family.
Luis Camilo 3:32
That's awesome. Yeah. So what kind of foods I know, obviously I come from, I'm Puerto Rican and Dominican. So I understand when you said Hey, not just the regular, but also the Puerto Rican. So why don't you go ahead and go into a little bit of that, like, what's the difference and you know how to give us a little bit background on some of that food.
Desi 3:49
So we had the turkey and obviously, I think they call it dressing but I call it stuffing. But with a different flair to it. Very heavy on the garlic and pork. We also had roast pork. We had a yellow rice with gondolas, which is pigeon peas. We had tostones and we had platanos. So that we had the sweet and the plane came and there was a Moho to go with it. We had a salad. But for us salad is just cucumbers and tomatoes, with some kind of you know, vinegar dressing. So it was very basic in that sense. And then for desserts, it was pumpkin pie. Chocolate cake and rice pudding. Yes. And bread pudding, I believe but I didn't. I don't like
Luis Camilo 4:37
your like, like not for me.
Desi 4:39
My mother loves it, you know? And it was just you look at it and it looked like a buffet the mixture of the fruit and I believe somebody brought a lasagna. So we have a menu in there. Yeah, it was a really nice mix of people brought different plates to share with us. There was different drinks like It was the first time I had like iced tea and lemonade mix together. There was soda, of course, you know, my mother was not really big on soda, but we did have soda that day. And then for the toasting part, my mom always did the sparkling cider. So the kids are participate. Yeah. So, um, was just literally two huge tables full of food.
Luis Camilo 5:26
So I guess it's so funny, because you're absolutely right. I think as being young people, in those moments, it's kind of hard for us to appreciate them right there in the moment. So obviously, you're kind of retrospectively looking back at it and saying, Hey, man, this was this was good. So my question surrounding that particularly kind of retrospective perspective, is, how has that kind of how has that resonated with you? I guess, since then, because I'm sure this isn't the first time you've thought about it. And I guess, secondarily, how has that kind of caused you to approach meals with others?
Desi 6:12
So growing up, and in those situations, I've come to realize that that was my family's form of love. We didn't we said it, yes, I love you. But for them, it's more of I demonstrate for you, because I'm going to put all this effort into a delicious meal, and then I'm going to sit down with you, and I'm gonna watch you eat it. And I want to, I want to hear what you think about it, I want to see how much you enjoy it. And it's, it's how the different generations of women in our family communicated with each other. Like, it was insulting that you would show up at my grandmother's house or my aunt's house and not something. So it's, for me, I've struggled with cooking, I didn't care for the domestic duties when I was growing up. But as I get older, I realized taking that time to prepare a meal, and maybe you're not really good at it, like I wasn't in the beginning. And you just keep practicing, but you're sharing it with people your love, you're showing them I put this effort in because you mean so much to me. And that's really how I look at it now. Like we're not big on entertaining, but when we do have people over it's, it's not strangers, like my mom did when we were younger, but people we genuinely care about and want to sit down and have a meal with and we want to show them how much we love them by preparing something we think they will enjoy.
Luis Camilo 7:40
Yeah. See, that's, that's so awesome to hear. Cuz I think sometimes some of that's lost, right? Yes. Yeah, some of that's lost. So, I guess kind of as a follow up to that. How do we model that to the next generation?
Desi 7:54
I think I would love to say that sitting in the kitchen and showing your children how to cook would be the way to do it. And my mom did that. For me. I tell a story, I was not very good in the kitchen. So I was given menial tasks like not nothing with a knife. My mother didn't trust me with a knife. But I would pick the rocks out of the beans, I would peel potatoes, and stuff like that. And I was very bad at it. So my mother actually kicked me out of her kitchen one year because I cut myself with a potato peeler. No, but not the sharp edge of the potato peeler. It was the rounded edge that you use to get rid of the spuds. I don't know how I did it. And she just looked at me. She was like, Okay, you're done. You're out of here. How is this possible? I don't know how you did it. You're the first person I've ever seen. Who does that. But I look back now as an adult. If a parent is willing to invest that time, I guarantee you later on in life, those children are going to remember those memories, and they're going to realize how important they are. And they're going to want to emulate that and try and establish that in their household.
Luis Camilo 9:07
No, you're absolutely right. Thank you so much. Because I think that that's I think that's the lost art. You're absolutely right. It's emulating, right, they are only going to emulate the thing that you get to be you know, that they get to see. So, yeah, I completely agree. That's awesome. So have you attempted to make any of those things? Okay, so why don't we talk a little bit about that, like, what what would you say kind of the top two of the things that were at that meal that you remember that you kind of attempted to do and success or not so much.
Desi 9:37
So, um, I have tried to make roast pork and, and I did a fairly decent job. I would not say it was, you know, fantastic. Yeah. But I got married and I made it for my husband the first time and he loved it so much. He loved it so much that he asked me how I prepared it. Yeah. And he got advice from my mom. As far as He surpassed me. This is much better than my shout out.
Luis Camilo 10:03
Shout out to Justin. He actually he mentioned the bed need when he was on the show.
Desi 10:07
It's phenomenal. Yeah. And a lot of you when it when you're done eating, you're sad because you're full. So we're grateful that he makes enough that there's leftovers. So I've done that. And I actually one year made rice pudding.
Luis Camilo 10:21
Nice. Okay.
Desi 10:23
There's a lot of room for improvement. Because there's no recipe. Yeah, and my grandmother's gone now. So I literally have to sit down and I have to close my eyes. And I have to remember the years of watching her and trying to duplicate like, I remember pretty much all of the ingredients. And it's now just trying to replicate it by trial and error. I've gotten decently close, not quite. And I don't know that I ever will. There's just something about your grandmother or your mother's cook. Yeah, that is never going to be quite like
Luis Camilo 10:58
you're you're like You're like I just can't get that. I'm not sure what it is. Yeah,
Desi 11:01
a good example is we had we were sick not too long ago. And my mom was like, I'm so sorry. You're not feeling well. Is there anything I can do for you? Would you like me to make you a suit? And I jumped all over that. There is nothing. Nothing like your mother.
Luis Camilo 11:16
Mama soup. My soup. I'm gonna take mama. Exactly. And then
Desi 11:19
yeah, my husband was like, Well, I offered to make you soup. And you didn't want it? Yeah, but you want your mom's soup? And I knew he was a little hurt. Yeah. But then he had my mom's soup. And he understood Yeah. I totally get it now. I'm so sorry. I gave you a hard time. And I was like, I'm telling you. And it's it's not just how good it is, and how comforting it is. But it brings back that warmth of childhood of your mom taking care of you, you know? Yeah, it's just, it's more than just nourishment. Yeah,
Luis Camilo 11:51
it's not just the food. Yeah, no, I agree. So for what I was gonna say, as you were talking about the rice pudding, for those that don't know what rice pudding has never had it. What are some of the ingredients in respect, so there's
Desi 12:03
milk, and I use coconut I'm not big on raisins. So we don't put the raisins in it. So it's, it's a couple of different kinds of milk, one of them being it's very sweet rice. And it's definitely a putting consistence consistency. There's nutmeg. There's cinnamon, there's an A star, or star nice. And you basically take all these wonderful spices and you boil them. And then you add the rice and the milk and you just kind of make it to a point where if it was a regular pot of rice, you would not want it. But it's something about the thickening of it. And the sweetness of it. It is like it's not quite like chocolate pudding. No, but it's not like it's not like the kind of rice you would eat for breakfast. I know that people know what rice pudding is in certain versions, but this one is much denser, it's much sweeter, it is much more filling. Yeah, and it's very rich, and
Luis Camilo 13:04
it's delicious. It is absolutely delicious. If you haven't had rice pudding, specifically, Puerto Rican rice pudding, go get you some Yeah, because you don't know what you're missing. Um, so what I'd like to do at the very end of these of these episodes is a kind of like to put my guests on the spot. Hopefully, it's not too bad for you. But ultimately, what I what I want to do is give you opportunity to just encourage the audience. And what that means very simply is if the Lord has put something on your heart, or if you just kind of have a thought that you feel could encourage people that are listening right now, the reason I do this, because I feel like there's a recurring theme. When we talk about these moments. There's like warm and fuzzies associated with me. There's just a, you know, a lot of times where we're pointing back to these moments where like, man, there's a warmth or a joy or satisfaction that comes with them. So kind of in that same vein, I just want to give the guests an opportunity to share anything they feel could encourage someone that's listening right now. I would say
Desi 14:07
for those of us that find it difficult to take the time to spend with God. And worship, traditionally, spending time in the kitchen, not just cooking, although cooking is a part of it. But cleaning and restocking your cupboards in looking at your ingredients and taking that time in that care is a form of worship, I believe, because these are the ingredients you're going to use to show God's love to others. You know,
Luis Camilo 14:41
that's a good one. That's a good one. I love it helps me
Desi 14:45
get back in the kitchen when I want to Yes,
Luis Camilo 14:46
like listen, this is a service for the Lord. I'm doing it. That's awesome. No, that's great. That's great. I really do appreciate that. All right, well, that is all the time we have today. So first off, I want to say thank you so much. I absolutely appreciate you for being on here Desi Oh Um, thank you for sharing your meal moment. But not only that, but giving us food for thought. So that's, that's great. So, audience listeners, all I want to know is or all I want to tell you is that we will have a nother episode next week. We'll have another guest next week, and we'll have another episode of my new moments. Catch you then bye
Transcribed by https://otter.ai