Chef Austin - Our Young Adult Children and a Favorite Recipe

Remember when your young adult children were in elementary school?  I never believed people when they said time would pass very quickly.  All I knew was that I was literally running around the house trying to catch the children after they took their baths.  Loved those days. We got to help them with their homework (note I said “help”, not “do”, lol).  All those projects from science, to mission building, to food preparation, and on and on.  Well, now that we have Chef Austin, our young adult children and a favorite recipe are ways to bond.  This is where those children projects are fast forwarded and become real today.

I hear great stories of children turning their passions into careers.  In one case, when she was a little girl, my daughter Olivia read the book “Gifted Hands” by Dr. Ben Carson.  I know she found it fascinating.  What  I did not know was that as a result of reading that book, she started getting very interested in math and science.  And her the love for the subjects, though challenging, grew and continued to grow.  She also loved music, dancing, making videos and was a serious double sport varsity athlete, so I didn’t really know what she wanted to do in the future.  (As for me, growing up my only thoughts were of becoming either a lawyer or doctor.  I didn’t do so well in biology, so I became a lawyer.  Years later I used my passion for being creative and helping people to working as a real estate broker.  One day I’ll tell you the story.)

Anyway, the years progressed. Then, when Olivia went to apply to colleges for fall 2020 and was considering what her major would be, the words “I want to be a biomedical engineer” came out of her mouth.  I had to stop.  I was stunned.  When did she grow up so quickly?  This from the girl creating music videos and running track and cross-country.  Seriously, I just stood there for a couple of seconds pondering what she just said, like maybe she was kidding.  I was questioning how to talk to your grown daughter.  

Oh the joys of parenting young adult children.  So now she is continuing on that scientific journey.  At least until she changes her major - we never know.  Her preparation for college will be the subject of another blog.  But now - it’s about Chef Austin.

As a child, Austin, now 17, was and still is quite the natural athlete - name the sport. He eventually became a double sport varsity player.  I knew he liked cooking because of his fascination with making and watching cookies in the oven and then graduated to watching Chef Gordon Ramsey You Tube videos (well I knew he really liked eating!) but also wanted to be one of those action seeking Secret Service agents.  Talk about being diversified!  Maybe he can do both at the White House?  

First he started out working at a nearby pizza place, The Fat Tomato, preparing the dough, preparing the ingredients, and putting these varied little works of art together with all types of toppings.  He loved getting to eat the extra food there - a bonus of working at a restaurant and his nice boss, the owner - Mr. Lee.  Then the pandemic hit and Austin and the rest of the staff found themselves without a job.  

Shortly thereafter, still at the age of 17, Austin found another job as a sous chef at a restaurant!  I think it was his watching all those Chef Gordon Ramsey videos on You Tube .  Who can blame him?  Food is amazing.  But his plans to go into the Secret Service are still hovering over us like a helicopter.  I think he likes the idea of the excitement of protecting our President, but personally, I think most of the work would be behind a desk, which does not interest him.  At least not for now. We’ll see. 

In class recently, he received an assignment and he chose to do a video of he and I cooking.  I’m grateful that he’s no longer totally embarrassed to be seen on video with his mother, ha ha.  It’s good that the topic of cooking was something that interests him. So here’s the video we did together.  

These are moments together, that just as when he was a little boy, I deeply cherished.  I’m now focusing on making great memories for the future.  He loves the Colombian food I cook which is why he chose to include Colombian desserts in the video. 

Why Colombian food? I was born in Colombia and came to the United States when I was 3 years old.  I had the  great opportunity to return to Colombia frequently during summer vacations and visit my grandparents, extended family and friends.  Food reminds us of our memories.  Just as we love cookies and the smell of baking bread, in Colombia, there are some special foods we remember as well.  I’m including one recipe here that I really love.  Actually, the whole family loves it. 

Salpicon is one of those recipes. It brings back those wonderful summer memories. 

Salpicon is a type of beverage that due to its consistency is more like a refreshing Colombian dessert.  In Colombia, one can find street vendors and small shops like what we once had in the U.S. (old fashioned ice cream parlors) that serve this.  Colombia, which is on the South American West Coast has different climates depending on the area. Salpicon is mostly found in the warmer areas for its tendency to cool you down.  I just realized the coincidence, once I lived on the South American West Coast and now I’m living on the North American West Coast :-)

The Salpicon recipe couldn’t be easier. Following is the recipe for the Salpicon in the video: 

To start, add chopped fruit into a glass. ( One can also use frozen fruit.) You can use various fruits, and the most common fruits are banana, pineapple, papaya, cantaloupe or other melon, and watermelon.  Then, add your favorite fruit soda. The soda that Colombians add to the drink is called “Colombiana.”  It’s my favorite and I can sometimes find it in the Latin section of a supermarket. 

Some people (including me!) like to add either a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream on top.  Imagine a sort of root beer float without the root beer. One can also add those long, skinny, chocolate covered wafers or other types of cookies on top of the ice cream.  Others add sweetened condensed milk or even sprinkle some cereal on top. 

 Serve it very cold with a spoon to be able to get the last piece of fruit from the bottom of the glass.

True to the way I sometimes cook (without formal measurements), here’s the recipe:

1. Chopped up fruit (in cubes)

2. Add a fruit soda (eg, orange crush, other natural fruit sodas or even Hansen’s Sodas)

3. Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream on top.

One change I sometimes make is I add the fruit, then the ice cream, and then the soda.  The texture is different and it makes the drink more frothy, like a root beer float. Then I keep adding more soda :-) as I drink it down. 

Try it and tell me how you like it.  Now excuse me while I go drive my son to his sous chef job.  My husband will be taking me there for dinner later tonight.

And if you’re ever in the area of Long Beach, CA, one of the Colombian restaurants I love is El Paisa.  It’s not very close to where I live, but I’ve been known to travel for the necessities:  good doctors, good lawyers, and good restaurants!  This is one of those restaurants with terrific food.   

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