My most favorite meal of all time is a traditional Puerto Rican dish called bacalao con arroz which is a salted cod fish that is usually eaten with white rice or potatoes. It is kept refrigerated in the supermarket, but when purchase it is sometimes kept frozen at home. It doesn’t really have a “fishy” smell which means it will not stink up your house, but it has a smell that in unforgettable once you have tried and enjoyed it.
This dish is only for people who can take in a lot of salt in one bit because that is how salty it is. The fish is boiled in water for about an hour, I believe. That is when the smell comes out. While the fish is cooking, the rice in put into aluminum pot with water and assorted spices. My mother usually makes this when we have not eaten for a while, or when we have Puerto Rican friends come to our house for dinner and the father of that family will voluntary make it himself. So, usually I would eat it at home. One of my best friends in this school sometimes brings some bacalao that both she or her mother makes it and brings it to school and she always makes sure she brings a lot to share. This dish varies from family to family and she makes it with yellow rice instead of white. She also keeps the burned rice from the bottom of the pot which all of our friends love, but I don’t. I cannot really say if my mother’s bacalao or my friend’s bacalao is better. I haven’t had either in a while, so I don’t know.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Thursday, September 20, 2007
the source of food part 1
There is usually a variety of foods that I eat day to day. It all depends on what is around me. Since I was raised Hispanic, by default I will rice every other day (please forgive me if I’m stereotyping). The kind of rice that I eat is wild rice or a wild rice "blend" which is a mix of brown rice, wild rice, and other healthy grains. I started seeing a dietion in June of this year and she gives me really good advice on what foods are good, like the wild rice and raw chocolate, and what foods to not necessarily avoid, but to eat less of, like white rice and milk chocolate. Each day, I prepare a small lunch for myself with whatever meat my mother made the night before, my wild rice that I made the night before, and a big salad. The purpose of the big salad is to fill me faster but to not have the feeling of being stuffed like it was Thanksgiving. But this pattern varies when I don’t have time to cook for myself, low on funds to find my own lettace, or a random time during the month when I want something like a Philly cheese steak, which is what I ate yesterday for lunch.
For the past few days, its been pretty much the same thing. I started keeping a detailed track of what I eat on Monday, September 17th. On that day, I had a Swiss cheese egg white omlete sandwich on honey flax wheat toast with a cup of tea. For lunch, I packed myself some pernil, which pork shoulder that is traditionally made in Puerto Rican and Dominican families, with some baked macaroni-n-cheese that my mother made the night before, which is a typical Sunday night dinner for us. I also packed myself a spinach salad with grape tomatoes, which I was planning to eat at work later that day, but I ended up eating a mini meatball roll with some Arizona pomogrante green tea at work that was from a pizzeria across the street from my job. My boss sent me there to get him a chicken calzone and whatever I want for myself, which was that mini roll. I also had a cup of tea while I was there because my throat was hurting a bit. Before I left for the night, a friend of mine that I work with and is also a student here at La Guardia gave me an Almond Joy and I ate that on the train with a bottle of Poland Spring water. Since I’m getting sick, I drink a lot of lemon-honey tea, which I had when I got home.
It is the morning of September 18th, and my throat is killing me. It is so sore, I can barely speak without my voice cracking like a 13-year-old boy going through pubity. I ate a bowl of oatmeal with a cup of lemon honey tea. That Tuesday was our trip to the Filmmakers Conference and I drank a .5 L bottle of Poland Spring that I could of bought at a newsstand in the train station for $1 and not $1.75. When it was over, I went back to school to buy my books and bought a Philly cheese steak sandwich from one of the Thomson Ave street venders and a Tazo iced green tea from 7-11. I also bought some lemon tea for my throat and that was about 16oz. At about 6 pm, I went home and had a breaded pork chop with some left macaroni-n-cheese with a spinich salad. I had yet another cup of lemon honey tea. For dessert I ate a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream bar and the flavor was "Half Baked". Then I snacked on one chocolate covered prezel.
I wake up at 7 am on the 19th of September to eat yet another bowl of oatmeal and lemon honey tea but I added two slices of honey flax whole wheat bread and several strawberries. After that annoying treasure hunt in the library, I ate a piece of grilled chicken and some macaroni-n-cheese that I brought from home with yet another cup of lemon tea (I ran out of honey) and a buffolo chicken "Big Bite" from 7-11. When I got to work, my supervisor was complaining that he was hungry and was really craving Taco Bell. I eventually had some of the nachos that he ordered. Later that night, I took a Halls because I had no money to tea and it was the first thing available that helps sore throats. When I got home, I had a real dinner which was chicken stew with some mashed potatoes and broccoli.
This pattern really depends on what my finacial state is that week. I’m a couple of private debts that I’m paying pff slowly. There are days where I’m lazy of what I eat and there are days where I’m extra careful.
For the past few days, its been pretty much the same thing. I started keeping a detailed track of what I eat on Monday, September 17th. On that day, I had a Swiss cheese egg white omlete sandwich on honey flax wheat toast with a cup of tea. For lunch, I packed myself some pernil, which pork shoulder that is traditionally made in Puerto Rican and Dominican families, with some baked macaroni-n-cheese that my mother made the night before, which is a typical Sunday night dinner for us. I also packed myself a spinach salad with grape tomatoes, which I was planning to eat at work later that day, but I ended up eating a mini meatball roll with some Arizona pomogrante green tea at work that was from a pizzeria across the street from my job. My boss sent me there to get him a chicken calzone and whatever I want for myself, which was that mini roll. I also had a cup of tea while I was there because my throat was hurting a bit. Before I left for the night, a friend of mine that I work with and is also a student here at La Guardia gave me an Almond Joy and I ate that on the train with a bottle of Poland Spring water. Since I’m getting sick, I drink a lot of lemon-honey tea, which I had when I got home.
It is the morning of September 18th, and my throat is killing me. It is so sore, I can barely speak without my voice cracking like a 13-year-old boy going through pubity. I ate a bowl of oatmeal with a cup of lemon honey tea. That Tuesday was our trip to the Filmmakers Conference and I drank a .5 L bottle of Poland Spring that I could of bought at a newsstand in the train station for $1 and not $1.75. When it was over, I went back to school to buy my books and bought a Philly cheese steak sandwich from one of the Thomson Ave street venders and a Tazo iced green tea from 7-11. I also bought some lemon tea for my throat and that was about 16oz. At about 6 pm, I went home and had a breaded pork chop with some left macaroni-n-cheese with a spinich salad. I had yet another cup of lemon honey tea. For dessert I ate a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream bar and the flavor was "Half Baked". Then I snacked on one chocolate covered prezel.
I wake up at 7 am on the 19th of September to eat yet another bowl of oatmeal and lemon honey tea but I added two slices of honey flax whole wheat bread and several strawberries. After that annoying treasure hunt in the library, I ate a piece of grilled chicken and some macaroni-n-cheese that I brought from home with yet another cup of lemon tea (I ran out of honey) and a buffolo chicken "Big Bite" from 7-11. When I got to work, my supervisor was complaining that he was hungry and was really craving Taco Bell. I eventually had some of the nachos that he ordered. Later that night, I took a Halls because I had no money to tea and it was the first thing available that helps sore throats. When I got home, I had a real dinner which was chicken stew with some mashed potatoes and broccoli.
This pattern really depends on what my finacial state is that week. I’m a couple of private debts that I’m paying pff slowly. There are days where I’m lazy of what I eat and there are days where I’m extra careful.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
About Me
My full name is Hope Elizabeth Lawrence, but most people don’t know about my middle name. I was born and raised in Queens New York on October 24, 1988. Most people that I meet for the first time think that I’m Hispanic, Puerto Rican for example, when I’m really half white and half black. Though I’m not Puerto Rican, or “Boricua”, I do like to represent it during the month of June when the Puerto Rican Day parade comes to New York. My parents divorced when I was very young; it was 1991 or 1992, I believe. Between the years 1992-1993, my mother went into a new relationship with my step-father and he raised my younger sister, who is two years younger than me, and me. My step-father also has daughter who is three years older than me and I have always called her my older sister throughout life. Then in August 1994, my mother gave birth to my annoying brother. I have a rather large family and it keeps getting bigger. In 2004, my older sister gave birth to a baby boy whom I love as if he were my own son. On my father’s side of the family, I have about five or six aunts and uncles and about eleven or twelve cousins. One of my female cousins has a six-year-old son while another female cousin has a four-month-old daughter. My grandmother is in her late 80s and my father is the oldest out of eight children at age 60.
When I was younger, I hated my name. Other kids in school would poke fun at it. My mother told me that my father gave me that name when she wanted to name me Sarah. My father decided against that because there is an all African American female college named Sarah Lawrence and he decided to name me Hope. Even now, sometimes I don’t want to tell people my real name because the ones who asked me my name is stranger in public who wants to hit on me. My mother always taught me not to talk to strangers so I would tell the stranger that my name is Elizabeth, which is my mother’s middle name as well, or that my name is Sarah. But I do have nick-names like Hopie, which is what my family calls me, or Josephine, which is what one of my supervisors at work calls me.
I do have a job while I’m I school. I work in C-Town Supermarket on 29th and Broadway in Astoria, Queens as a bookkeeper. I started there as a cashier on September 24, 2006 and I was promoted to bookkeeper sometime in February 2007. I love it there. I picked that place to work because I needed a job and I was familiar with the neighborhood since my old high school is in that area. I do see a few old high school friends and teachers shop there. I even got my older sister to work there since she needs to support herself and her 3-year-old son. C-Town has had its bad times and its good times. Though I live in Elmhurst, Queens, Astoria is a wonderful place to live and work. But Astoria isn’t the only wonderful place in Queens, for those who live in other boroughs like Brooklyn. Another nice place is Middle Village simply because there is a huge cemetery and a crematory. St. Albans is nice and quiet and I love going there on Christmas Eve since it is family tradition for all the Lawrences (that’s my family name) to go to the house where my father, aunts and uncles grew up in and to walk around the neighborhood to see how other residents decorate their homes.
When I was younger, I hated my name. Other kids in school would poke fun at it. My mother told me that my father gave me that name when she wanted to name me Sarah. My father decided against that because there is an all African American female college named Sarah Lawrence and he decided to name me Hope. Even now, sometimes I don’t want to tell people my real name because the ones who asked me my name is stranger in public who wants to hit on me. My mother always taught me not to talk to strangers so I would tell the stranger that my name is Elizabeth, which is my mother’s middle name as well, or that my name is Sarah. But I do have nick-names like Hopie, which is what my family calls me, or Josephine, which is what one of my supervisors at work calls me.
I do have a job while I’m I school. I work in C-Town Supermarket on 29th and Broadway in Astoria, Queens as a bookkeeper. I started there as a cashier on September 24, 2006 and I was promoted to bookkeeper sometime in February 2007. I love it there. I picked that place to work because I needed a job and I was familiar with the neighborhood since my old high school is in that area. I do see a few old high school friends and teachers shop there. I even got my older sister to work there since she needs to support herself and her 3-year-old son. C-Town has had its bad times and its good times. Though I live in Elmhurst, Queens, Astoria is a wonderful place to live and work. But Astoria isn’t the only wonderful place in Queens, for those who live in other boroughs like Brooklyn. Another nice place is Middle Village simply because there is a huge cemetery and a crematory. St. Albans is nice and quiet and I love going there on Christmas Eve since it is family tradition for all the Lawrences (that’s my family name) to go to the house where my father, aunts and uncles grew up in and to walk around the neighborhood to see how other residents decorate their homes.
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