Hay Comida en la Casa
By Richard Reyes
My grandma always told me, “solo necesito tortillas y salsa,” which translates to “all I need is tortillas and salsa.” Even now that I’m older, I often find myself warming up a tortilla and adding a spoonful of salsa for a satisfactory snack.
I grew up spending time with my grandparents on both my mother’s and father’s sides of the family. Depending on who was available to watch me, I would bounce back between both homes every day of the week. No matter what day it was, I could always count on either of my grandmas to whip me up a modest, filling, and nutritious meal.
My family immigrated from Mexico, and they arrived with meager finances to support and feed their children. My family stretched pennies and provided for a handful of mouths; the privilege to eat protein-packed meals that the average American family has for dinner was out the window. Staple foods and low-cost ingredients were the stars of the dish, and both my grandmothers made them shine bright.
Both of my grandmothers had their style of cooking, and each of them had their go-to budget meal. One grandma would always make enchiladas de queso, and the other always opted for rice and beans. I remember some days eating just a bowl of beans, tortillas, and salsa.
One of my grandmas was particularly close to me when I was younger. We had a very deep bond, and we still do. Her name is Maria Prieto, the sweetest angel on earth. I even lived with her at one point when I was in 3rd grade until the end of elementary school. She raised me with great morals and lots of respect.
I appreciate the time I spent living with her because she showed me how to fill my tummy up during tough times. I remember one year she was on strike with her coworkers from Albertsons, and we were living off canned food and dry goods that her union provided. You bet I was there by her side supporting her while I calmly sat on the sideline playing my Gameboy Advance.
She was barely scraping up cash, and I recall one day she only had enough money to buy a pound of meat. I’ve never seen beef diced so small, but my gosh it was delicious. She had made the most delectable pico de gallo, with some beans, and tortillas to make tacos.
Her parents were both from a ranch in Guadalajara, Jalisco. My great-grandfather was a farmer and beekeeper. He was the most gentle soul ever. I remember he used to have a small bee farm in his backyard, and an arboretum of different flowers, fruits, and vegetables.
I recall my grandma always quoting her father saying, “if I have one flour tortilla and 20 people in my house, everyone is getting a piece of the tortilla. It doesn’t matter if it’s small or big, everyone will get a piece.” He would say this in Spanish of course.
He didn’t know a lick of English, but he was a hardcore Dodger fan, you could always catch him listening to Vin Scully casting the dodgers gamer on the radio.
As a proponent of fighting food insecurity, I firmly believe having ease of access to food should be a human right. Here at Pasadena City College, students have access to food via the Lancer Pantry, a service that provides free food to currently enrolled students at PCC. All you need to utilize this service is a valid PCC school ID.
“You’ll always find staple foods here at the pantry. Rice, beans, and pasta,” said Angela Hogue, a pantry volunteer.
My grandparents repeatedly used two common ingredients in succession, and literally, almost every dish included them. Arroz y frijoles. Rice and beans.
As my academic journey treks forward, I realize the stories I’ve heard about broke college student meals were true. I’m conflicted between spending money on fast food or taking the time out of the day to cook some quality food that my body yearns for.
The Lancer Pantry is a project created by the Pasadena City College Lancer Pantry Advisory Committee in 2016 to “address food insecurity among PCC students, to increase awareness of hunger and poverty issues affecting our PCC community, and to provide food, hygiene supplies, and referral to off-campus resources to students in need.”
The Lancer Pantry receives generous donations and monetary contributions from PCC staff and faculty members, community partners, PCC alumni, and private individuals to stay in operation.
It’s community-funded, Lancer-backed, and a resource more students should utilize when they feel that rumble in their tummies.
Students can stop by the Lancer Pantry for snacks like peanut-butter crackers, string cheese, fruit, and granola bars (yes, even the tasty salted peanut butter ones). The best part about the Lancer Pantry is that students can utilize a “full-service” shop. This service is where the game changes.
The Lancer Pantry provides students with staple foods such as rice, dry beans, cereals, and pasta. You can always count on items such as these to be readily available at your disposal. The pantry also provides non-perishable items like canned fruit, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and canned beans. Items are subject to availability and rotate often. Lastly, the Lancer Pantry provides refrigerated foods such as blocks of cheese, meats, and sometimes even frozen ready-to-cook turkeys.
I’m going to keep it real with you; I do not like pasta much. It’s a C-tier food. So when I’m deciding between choosing to cook rice and dry beans or pasta such as spaghetti, I’m infinitely selecting the former. So I decided to cook Arroz y frijoles, aka rice and beans.
My most recent visit to the Lancer Pantry was for this story so I can show students and those on a budget that simple foods can be just as fulfilling as that Super Star meal for $5.99 across the street from campus.
I was able to secure most of my ingredients in the pantry. If frugal meals are your thing, you can grab a few of the following ingredients at your nearest 99 Cents Only store.
Arroz y frijoles con quesadillas
What I secured at the Pantry:
1 lb. dry pinto beans
1 lb. white rice
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 can of tomato sauce
1 lb. of swiss cheese
What you may need from the 99 cents:
Tortillas
Onions
Garlic
Jalapenos
Tomato chicken bouillon
1.Prepare the beans: Clean out all the beans under some running water and wash them out a few times. I wash them out maybe 3 to 4 times. You’ll need to pick out all the ugly beans that are cracked in half or are peeling. After you clean them all up, the general rule is to let them soak overnight.
2. Cook the beans: I didn’t have the time to soak them overnight, so I boiled them on medium heat for about 5 hours. You’ll want to add a few garlic cloves, a half-white onion, and a jalapeno in there. Throughout the cooking process, make sure there is enough water so the beans do not dehydrate. I add a cup or two of water every hour or so.
Let them sit, do not open the pot often.
3. Clean the rice?Fry the rice: Get one large saute pan, and bring it to medium heat with some oil. Add finely minced garlic, and diced onions, and saute them until they’re nice and light brown. Add the rice and fry the rice until it’s also toasted brown. Next, add a little bit of those canned tomatoes. Sautee them all up, and add water. Depending on how much you’re cooking, the general rule of thumb is 2 cups of water per 1 cup of rice.
4. Fry the rice: Get one large saute pan, and bring it to medium heat with some oil. Add finely minced garlic, and diced onions, and saute them until they’re nice and light brown. Add the rice and fry the rice until it’s also toasted brown. Next, add a little bit of those canned tomatoes. Sautee them all up, and add water. Depending on how much you’re cooking, the general rule of thumb is 2 cups of water per 1 cup of rice.
5. Cook the rice: I add around 2 ½ of water to be on the safe side. Once the water is in, add a spoonful of that tomato sauce, and some chicken bouillon. Stir it all up, let it cook, and do not remove the cover. Cook on medium-low heat for about 20–25 minutes.
Assuming the beans have been cooked beforehand, it is time to fry them.
6. Fry the beans: Get another saucepan and add some oil in there. Get a large soup spoon and add a couple of scoops in there. Make sure to add about 2 scoops of bean water because you’ll need to smash the beans. Get a bean smasher and start smashing those boys up. If the beans seem to dry, add a bit more of the bean water.
7. Cook the quesadillas: Finally, the last step is to make the quesadillas. I got a tortilla pan that my grandmother had, or a comal, and I lightly toasted 2 flour tortillas. Make sure one isn’t too toasted because we’ll add some of that shredded swiss cheese from the pantry. Add the cheese onto the lightly toasted one and add the other tortilla on top. Let the cheese melt, and flip it over to the other side. It all depends on how toasted you like your tortillas. I like mine crunchy.
8. Enjoy the fruits of your labor: Once the rice is finished, grab some beans, some rice, and your quesadilla. The easiest, most delicious dish ever. You’ll have enough food to last for a few days too!
