Wednesday, December 06, 2006
On past and pasta…
Today I made the “military style pasta” for the boys, but I can’t find my camera (which makes me very miserable and irritated), so I can’t take a pic… So you’ll just have to believe me. I really did make it. Cause it’s so simple. And requires almost no ingredients, except pasta, onion and chicken (plus salt and pepper). For those budget/fridge tight moments, it’s simply indispensable…
Recipe: Boil pasta… I use shell pasta, and boil half a standard pack. Separately, fry a chopped onion, and then add chopped chicken (breasts, thighs, whatever you have…), one package – which is normally about a pound. Fry chicken for a while, then add half a cup of water, salt, pepper, and let it simmer for about 15 minutes. Mix pasta with the chicken, let it blend for a few minutes and serve. Even my ultra picky son eats it. And that says a lot. Cause he’s such a picky eater, I’m loosing my mind over what to feed him on a daily basis.
And on a different note, I got a very special letter today. From a friend I tracked down in Russia. Someone I was best friends with 16 years ago! Oh my God! 16 years! What do you write to a person you haven’t seen/heard from or about in 16 years? Back then we were kids, and not even thinking boys yet… Now… We’re both married, with kids, and totally different lives (except for the "married" and "kids" part). It seems so surreal. So strange. And stranger yet that we are corresponding via REGULAR MAIL! With stamps! And envelopes! And I actually have to write with pen on paper… With no “Delete” key anywhere in sight…
It is so weird, but it seems that the older I get (yes, I know I’m not old, I mean older…) the more I look back to my roots. I want to find people that affected me back then, and see how they turned out. And I’m also more interested in my culture and history… I don’t really know why that is. But it seems that for some reason when you are young (kid, teenager) all you really want to do is belong to the group that surrounds you at the moment. But as you get older, you want to find out who YOU are, where YOU come from, what is YOUR legacy that you’ll pass to your children. Something about your ancestry becomes more real.
It doesn’t mean that I think my culture is better than others. It just means that I want to know more about it. Cause that’s my history. One way or another it has affected me, and helped to shape me into the person I am now. And you can’t really go forward if you don’t know where you’re coming from…
And I often wonder how it will be for my kids. They will all be Canadian-born and raised. No distant memories of another life. No secret pangs of nostalgia over a place and time that doesn’t even exist now. I want to help to find that middle ground where they know they are Canadian, but also care about the backgrounds of their parents. Both mine and my husbands. Cause, honestly, both of us have very rich cultural backgrounds that would be a shame to loose.
I’m not yet sure how to do that. I only hope that they grow up comfortable in their own skins, and that curiosity strikes them as they get older. And by that time I’ll be ready with some answers…
Maybe I should start writing down notes for them. With pen on paper… Just in case…
Read or Post a Comment
I think that's wonderful; it's so great to contact long-lost friends. And I really wish more people would write "real" (pen and paper) letters. There's nothing better than receiving a real letter in the mail.
I love exploring my roots, too. A few years ago, my parents did extensive geneology research, resulting in four books of history, that they bound and gave my sister and I a few years ago. Knowing that history just gives you a sense of...presence, in the world. It orients you, somehow.
Getting a letter from a long lost friend - how exciting!
I think it's a great idea to know where you come from. My father has done a lot of geneology research for our family - both his and my mother's sides - and it has come to mean a lot to all of us.
I wanted to make chicken with spaghetti the other day but most of the chicken pasta recipes I searched online had something to do with a casserole!
If I had known something so easy can be so tasty, I swear I would have done the same!
I'm definitely a lazy mum-to-be.
I know what you mean. I've never been back to Hong Kong since I left as a little kid. Someone day I want to go back to visit. Until then, I make my daughter go to Chinese school.
Military style pasta!!:D:D
Enjoy your friends.
Kelley: It is wonderful! I found a few Russian classmates from way back when, and it's so cool to find out what they are up to now... And I'd love to do a geneology research... where do you start?
Lesley: It's so cool to find out family history... I know there were some interesting personalities, but really don't know much about them. I'd love to find out more.
Simcooks: This dish is as lazy as lazy gets... And Mom's to be are entitled to being lazy...
DaddyForever: I never went back either. I plan to, someday... Meanwhile I'm trying to speak Russian to my kid (with very little success).
Asha: That actually is the name! I guess the point is that it's so simple you can make it in a battle situation :-)