Ananda Kumar. S

tía Daniela has a Depeche Mode rose tattooed above her ankle tía Hortensia moves from pot to pot across her backyard, begonias, hibiscus, and gardenias anointed with holy hose water tía Janie tells stories of young white men asking her to two-step at Cowboys Dance Hall tía Susan makes the sign of the cross every time she drives by a Catholic church tía Cindy says aver while she puts on reading glasses to look at a photo of your novio tía Rosie watches Sex in the City reruns on E! before bed...

My mom is a successful business woman and a person so proud of her cooking skills that she hardly makes anything magnificent and truly tasty until she thinks that we, me and my father, her family, truly deserve it. And what do you know! My father and I, our whole lives, have acted, every single day, like we deserve it: for which my mother always rewards us with her best recipes. And I am so proud to share three of them here. A word of advice.