My grandmother Isabel, a woman who has taught me almost everything I know nowadays, also known as "la doña", she has a lot of lived experiences that she transmits day by day to all her grandchildren and children, my grandmother is known to be a woman with great talent for food, she knows how to cook many things and the best thing is that everything turns out well, this time I captured her making some "cachapas", My grandmother has a good hand for cooking or at least that is what the other women of the farm say, because everything she prepares turns out with good taste but she is also known for being a very serious woman and she doesn't like that everybody helps her to cook, she almost always cooks alone, because for her it is easier to keep the order of what she is cooking.
every sunday as is customary on the farm they prepare some good cachapas and as I mentioned my grandmother is the one who prepares that food that would delight the gods themselves if it were so, many times I try to learn to cook like my grandmother, although only she gets those cachapas so well and above all great, how she does so that the cachapa does not split, as she herself says, it all depends on who prepares the corn dough if she knows how to prepare it well, it will not split, if it is too watery it probably will not turn out well.
the years are the ones that have given her all that knowledge, whenever I talk to my grandmother she tells me that what she knows how to cook and everything she learned was by observing her mother and her aunts, those women cooked with only yervas and salt, nowadays there are many more chemical seasonings, but for those women of ancient times, the only thing they knew to season were the same yervas that nature gave them.
my grandmother has a trick to make these cachapas totally different from the rest, the flavour varies, as she adds a touch of sugar, some may think that this is wrong, but for my grandmother it is totally different, it is very tasty.
"Something unique in the preparation of my grandmother's cachapa is that she prepares it with firewood, which gives the cachapa its unique flavour."
Also as is customary every Sunday they prepare that soup of bones, the best on the farm and that I have eaten, not to praise my grandmother, only she knows how to cook so divine, that soup that when you taste it you begin to savour so many different flavours that you will not stop eating. The women of the llano are known for being good cooks, women who spend most of the day in the kitchen, my grandmother is one of them, almost everything she makes is spectacular, I say almost because it is true that some things are not as perfect as others, the important thing is that whenever she prepares something it is good or very good.
This soup had the following ingredients:
Corn
bones
potato
yam
octopus
carrot
onion, coriander, chilli
yucca
when preparing it, the first thing to do is to put the bones and the meat to boil, at least 15 minutes to be exact, then when we see that the meat is taking a less reddish colour and starts to boil, we add the vegetables, with the seasonings, We begin to turn a little and let it continue to prepare over low heat, after about 30 minutes when the vegetables are soft, then everything is ready to serve, if you have some spicy, it will be much tastier for those who like to eat this way, but leave it as well as it will be tasty.
This tradition brings together many family members every Sunday, everyone knows that this day will be special because it is the great soup of Doña Isabel, who earned her reputation by preparing good food dishes, many say that this soup that my grandmother prepares lifts even the sick.
The people of the countryside are very united, they live by traditions, at least in my family it is like that, every weekend we all get together and spend a day as a family, there are also the days when someone has a birthday, then a meal is prepared and everyone gets together, it is almost always like that.
There are also the queens of the house, my daughter, Sofia Valentina, a beautiful 3 year old girl who came into the world to bring me joy and lots of love really one the llanero with the family is a class apart, we are taught that the duty with the family is special, a good upbringing determines a healthy development of people, so that's what we do, give everything positive for the greater good, every day I spend with my daughter I try to give her the best of me.
I try to show that as a father I am capable of that great challenge, which for many is an understatement, that of being a single parent. The girl's mother does not live with us, everything happened after we had a very strong argument one day because she wanted to mistreat the baby and I cannot tolerate that, much less that she assaults a girl who is not to blame.
Although I don't come here to speak ill of anyone, everyone pays for their ills in this life, that's how everything works, so well, the most beautiful thing about being a single parent is that it is a challenge for me to get ahead with the upbringing and development of the child but it is also nice to see how she grows up healthy and safe and very intelligent, every day she surprises me with the things she does or says, I feel that time goes very fast and that soon I will be an adult and my daughter will be a teenager. But while that is happening I have to go on with her upbringing.
My daughter is a very healthy child, she is also intelligent, there is no need to repeat things with her, everything goes very fast, she grasps easily and learns very quickly, every morning she gets up and the first thing she does is tell me daddy to brush, then I have to dress her and put her boots on, then she goes out to look for her grandmother and they go together to feed the animals, to see if the hens have laid eggs and she spends half a day with her grandmother.
I felt some sadness at the moment that her mother left much more for the child than for the relationship itself, although many people think that children do not suffer for being small, I think the opposite for me it was hard to see my daughter every day as she cried until she understood that her mother was gone and would not return, while that happened every day was eternal and every night had no end, my daughter the greatest blessing I have, she is part of my day to day, I feel that instead of being me who teaches her, I learn more and more from her every day.
I didn't think I was going to be a father in this way but it doesn't discourage me to be a good father, I have to get ahead and try to promote a good education and upbringing for my daughter because that's what being a great father is all about.
"To love purely means to love with my soul, so I love my daughter who fills every space of my being, to care, to protect and to teach is the greatest honour I could have with my daughter."
Yes, as I mentioned a little while ago, my family likes to sow, as much as possible, the land is the biggest tester we have, taking advantage of every meter to produce food and some money for the family is very important.
We take it very seriously to be able to plant every year as it is the biggest income we have so far, money that is used more than anything else for the expenses of the farm itself and payment of staff, also to feed our families and give us a treat or two, that's how simple everything is for us.
This land is already prepared and ready to sow maize, which is what we mostly sow every year and what we handle in industrial quantities, a large part of this harvest is sold to companies that then transform it into flour to be able to eat and sell to the population, the llanero learned to survive in a world in which the great advances have forced many llanero to seek the city in search of other opportunities, we are few who still cling to our land and the very essence of continuing to subsist in these so deserted couples and where what abounds is nature and many km of high grass.
for us there is nothing better than to have a productive day where we are able to set a goal, to be able to sow and then start to take care of it like a child, a child that later on will give us great results, that is how everything works for us.
the older members of the family are the ones who decide how to manage everything, not just because they are older, but also because of their wisdom, because over the years they have learned how to manage the land more easily and how to make the most of it, For example, there are months when it is not convenient to sow because the rains start and this prevents the seed from germinating, as it floods the fields and everything is lost, if it were not for the great knowledge of these older people we would make the big mistake of sowing in the rainy season, or at times when it is not appropriate to sow.
We are always looking to get the most benefits from different situations, for us the day to day counts, because although we do not only lose a day, it can also be a day where we will not eat well because of the lack we have had, to be able to produce every day is to feed our loved ones, to those who do not know the life of a llanero, well here is a small sample of what it means to be one.
with the affection that I usually write this post, I also send you a big hug and sincere affection. take care of yourselves.
