hungry to feed, thirsty to love

It was the smells coming from the kitchen that I remember most about how my love affair with food started when I was a kid.  The smell of bacon wafting through the vents into my bedroom, the faint hint of maple syrup.  This was my alarm clock.  I'd hop out of bed and run downstairs excited to see what incredible feast my mom had prepared.  Could it be blueberry pancakes topped with fresh fruit or maybe fluffy french toast fingers smothered in maple syrup and dusted with powdered sugar?? But as delicious as those both were, for me there was one dish that trumped them all, Mofungo.  A classic Puerto Rican dish, made by frying green plantains in bacon fat until soft, mashed by hand in a "Pilon", seasoned with salt and topped with crispy bacon.  Rich, ethereal and classically Caribbean.

My older brother and I have a serious obsession with Mofungo, in fact one that probably requires a 12 step program.  We used to constantly fight over it in the kitchen and sadly, we still do 25 years later.  But really, it's the simplicity of this dish that makes it so genius, and well...did I mention it's cooked in bacon fat??  This is the type of simplistic, nutritional food that has been feeding people for thousands of years and is really at the core of my cooking philosophy.  Simple, fresh ingredients prepared with one thing in mind, feeding the people I care about.  Moving people through food is such a powerful concept, and frankly one that I think should be held with a certain degree of respect.  Never underestimate the beauty in sharing a meal with someone, even one as simple as mashed plantains.  Stick around a while, there's no need to rush. Open a few bottles of wine, throw on a little music and enjoy the moment with the people you love or maybe just met.  Share, eat, drink, live.