#asopao

[vegehana-food]

✿ アソパオ | Asopao ・カリブ海のスペイン語圏国家であるドミニカ共和国やプエルトリコには、美味しい鶏だし雑炊があります。レストランによってはお肉や豆や野菜などが豪華に入っているところもありますが、現地ではアソパオはスープの位置づけです。

[chaosangelmp3]

anyway imagine latina robin finding out nancy is sick and preparing asopao to give her and spoon feed it to her….. nancy just absolutely enjoying the shit out of that fucking stew

[wolfytae-exe]

my mom made me a puerto rican soup :(

i forgot the name of it though so if you know tell me

[radhamilton]

Asopao de Pollo Recipe

Rich in rice, adobo seasoning, garlic, cilantro, onions, and flavorful green olives, this traditional Puerto Rican stew also contains chicken thighs.

[dustteller]

Something I haven't seen people talk about with the new spiderverse movie is just how puertorrican Miles and Rio are.

For background, I'm puertorrican from the island, and I just watched Across the Spiderverse in a theater here, and let me tell you, the people in the theater freaked out whenever these little details came on. It is so clear to all of us how much care went into portraying every single detail.

You guys don't understand how important all of this is to me.

At the party, when everyone started greeting miles in spanish? I've had all those phrases said to me. All of those people had my accent. They weren't a different flavor of hispanic just because finding some puertorricans was too hard. They were all so very puertorrican that it almost hurt.

But even that can be a bit easier to portray. Sure, they all had puertorrican accents, but everything they said is pretty run of the mill for hispanic people. And then I saw the food. I remember the asopao most clearly, because it was just on screen for a few seconds, and my friend started whisper screaming "Pasteles, pasteles!!" into my ear. It was such a tiny thing, but the food was ours, and not cuban, and not dominican. We never get to see our food done right, because no one cares. People just use dominican food and go "close enough."

And when Miles and his parents are talking about spiderman and Rio says that Spiderman is puertorrican?? That's such a puertorrican thing to do. People here are so incredibly proud of our island and our people that I personally know so many people that have gone to see Lin Manuel Miranda shows while having zero interest in musical theater because he's one of us. It makes so much sense that Rio would celebrate that, and when Miles immediately tries to deflect by saying spuderman sounds more dominican? That's peak comedy. Everyone in the theater burst out laughing, and that joke works precisely because the movie doesn't treat us as interchangeable.

And finally, Rio herself. The way all the characters move is so incredibly unique and mesmerizing, but Rio? My girl feels with her mouth. Her expressions were so spot on, with the lips making up so much of the emotions. Puertorricans use our lips a lot when expressing how we feel, and its such a tiny, inconsequential detail, but it means the world to me. So many people in the creative team cared so much for all these little details to make their way in. They really didn't have to, but they did, and I just really appreciate that.

Also, fun fact, I watched it in english with spanish subs (the subs are for the spanish dubbed version, not a direct translation), and when Rio says "I bet she doesn't even know spanish" about Gwen, in spanish it's "I bet she doesn't even know where Puerto Rico is" and that was very funny and I laughed my ass off when I noticed that's what they translated it as.

[ohbabydollie]

I love schlatt, but if I ever thought of cooking for him and making plantains or any one of those asopao, dude would need to at least take a second before trying it. His picky ass

he’s hesitant, especially with anything that doesn’t have visible meat, any meat or mainly veggies, he doesn’t want to try it. making him sopas without meat, asopao, etc. his picky ass is stirring it around, not wanting to eat it.

you insist and insist on him eating it and once he does he’s finishing it and asking for seconds. he loves it, asking you to make it again and again.

he’s basically gulping it down and can’t believe he waited so long before trying it

[lesbiancloudtail]

[morethansalad]

Asopao de Gandules con Bolitas de Platanos Vegano / Vegan Puerto Rican Pigeon Pea Soup with Plantain Dumplings

[mossyscavern]

(This is kinda a basic question) but what are the weavers and Sam’s favorite foods/drinks?

The weavers + Sam’s Favourite foods

———

Benny’s favourite/s: Christmas fruit cake, civil war cake, chocolate potato cake, roast beef, chicken pudding and clam chowder.

Tim’s favourite/s: ambrosia, apple sauce cake, scalloped potatoes, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and certain stews.

Tom’s favourite/s: similar to Tim, but his is apple pie, baked lamb, mashed potatoes and vegetable soup.

Caleb: baked lamb, certain soups, ambrosia, chicken pudding cheese sandwich and pound cake

Lilian’s favourite/s: apple sauce cake, ambrosia, mashed potatoes, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, roast beef.

(Most of their foods is… interesting and normal to say the least. But with the twins it’s a rarity to get any of these unless they make it themselves)

Travis’ favourite/s: croissants (thanks to Duncan), classic pepperoni and cheese, ramen, sushi, bento and Pho soup either with beef or chicken (only thing close to his heritage), burgers and fries

Duncan’s favourite/s: plain cheese pizza, bouillabaisse, clafoutis (the ‘s’ is silent), crêpes, ratatouille, Soupe a l'ognion, chicken curry, kebab wraps

Sam’s favourite/s: tamales, arepa con queso, buñuelos, asopao de pollo (from a friend), Postre de natas, ham and pepperoni pizza and strawberry cake.

———

I have been waiting for this question for a long time. Thank you so much for asking!

And it’s not basic at all, since the weavers are from the 1920’s and favourites are very difficult, I kinda try to keeps these short but readable so the favourite drinks are gonna have to be in a different post... sorry.

[greyias]

I have made it through the pilot episode of my silly forgotten spy show from 2011! The yellow subtitles are super duper distracting, and sometimes cover up the actual subtitles when they start speaking in other languages. I persevere though! Beggars can't be choosers when it comes to nearly lost media.

Thoughts below the cut!

First up, apparently my memory lied to me right off the bat, and I had forgotten the show wasn't "four white guys", it was "three white guys" and the main character, Ricky Martinez, who is Puerto Rican. Whoops. My bad.

Okay first, since likely no one has seen this show, our cast:

Pictured: 4 wild and crazy guys, on a future adventure I've already forgotten

On the left, our main character, Ricky Martinez. The newbie. Again, the least white man here. A little baby. A sparkly eyed ingenue, who has always dreamed of being a spy.

Next up is Michael Dorset, played by Eric Close. He's the team leader! His personality is "dickishly controlling", I guess, but he somehow fades into the background in the pilot. But that's mostly because standing to the right of him...

...is Billy Collins, played by James Murray. My beloved, my baby boy, the inexplicably Scottish spy that works for the CIA(?). This is explained very quickly in that he used to be part of the British Secret Service, but then got deported (???) "on account of boyish mischief". To my recollection, this is the only explanation we ever get. He's just Scottish and he's there. Accept it.

And finally we have Casey Malick, aka "The Living Weapon". He's like if Elliot Spencer was extremely deadpan all the time. An average guy surrounded by supermodels for coworkers. He doesn't seem to mind.

Now that my oh-so descriptive introductions are out of the way. Onwards to the plot! After a very questionable historical narration of the CIA, it starts with our little fwesh faced, cherubic wannabe spy Ricky going to his first day at work! He's so excited to start his dream job, and I guess in this universe, if you get a job with the CIA you're actually allowed to tell your mommy, because she packed a lunch for him for his first big boy day at the office! (Who he apparently doesn't live with so did he make a pitstop on his way to work?). Unfortunately, the lovingly prepared Asopao De Pollo is quickly deemed a "suspicious liquid" and Ricky is detained as a suspected terrorist, because oopsie! The CIA accidentally merged their new hire list with the terrorist watchlist. AS YOU DO.

But that's all sorted out quickly enough, although I think lunch may have been ruined in the process, and our derring do protagonist marches onward to the office of the deputy director of the CIA to report for duty, only to be informed that he was laid off as of five minutes ago. WOMP WOMP. After giving a rousing speech about how obsessed he is with being a spy, the director, seeing the perfect patsy, basically assigns Ricky to be a tattletale on the team of troublemakers who are constantly irritating him.

So he immediately goes to meet/spy on his new coworkers, who introduce themselves to Ricky and the audience, and then when Ricky tries to bluff out his reason for being assigned to the team, SUDDENLY get called on a super duper urgent mission just a few blocks down (it's on American soil, but that's okay because they're rebelllllls), and they let Billy drive, which seems to be a mistake because he's either forgotten what side of the road to drive on, or thinks he's actually playing Grand Theft Auto. I started to try and count how many civilians he nearly plowed into as he literally DRIVES OVER SIDEWALKS and almost causes several accidents as they race to find... uh, I don't know. Somethingsomething plutonium. I should note, this isn't even ten minutes into the episode's runtime.

So the three senior spies chunk our poor fresh faced baby spy onto the road where he has to run down and climb into a moving vehicle to give an envelope to an operative who turns out to be Russian, and as understanding dawns on poor Ricky, he's thrown on his ass again into the street, where the little rascal senior spies pick him back up and are like "aw how sweet we got photos of that", because you know, spies. And blackmail. And the relentless hazing of the newbie begins.

Other things they do to this poor man in this episode alone include:

cockblocking him on a date (granted, it's a date with Michael, aka leader dude's ex wife)

trick him into making a toast with a drugged flask of whiskey

glue an earpiece to his eardrum(???)

send his unconscious form on a horse so he'll get kidnapped by the villains of the week (for reasons)

decide to wake him up by nearly shattering his eardrum with the sound of bagpipes

at the end of the episode they cockblock him again by waiting for him in the dark in his own house, just because

Anyway, plot of the week is rescuing a journalist who's been captured by... *heavy sigh* Sudanese rebels. Because while this wasn't made closer to 2001 post-9/11 reactionary, it's still, you know, close enough that we're still in that era of television. So they all commit a little grand larceny (although is it grand larceny if the money you "acquire" for a hostage exchange is counterfeit?), Ricky has to go get his vaccines, somewhere in this Billy actually tries to be friendly to him and give him advise, Ricky causally proposes bombing some potato farmers because the deputy director is trying to teach him about the viability of intel, and they have to fly coach, the HORROR, before we finally get to...

The Scene™.

The one scene that once I saw it again, made me vividly remember cringing as it aired back in 2011. Like, it wasn't great then, and it aged even more poorly... the scorpion scene. It's... it's... yeahhhhhh... I have a vague memory they didn't lean too heavily into the racist stereotyping later in the series, unless my memory just completely blanked all of that out. But yeah... it's not great. And CBS was like. SUPER proud of this scene. In all of the promotional trailers and lead up to the pilot airing, they include the 🦂 incident in a lot of them.

🦂 🦂 🦂 ANYWAY. Let's move on from that 🦂 🦂 🦂

Anyway, then the drugging incident above happens, which was done so Deputy Director who just won't spend any $$$ to authorize rescuing non-Americans needs a bonafide American in danger to send in the helicopters. Also there's like, at least a dozen rando hostages just to up the ante I guess. After being rudely woken up by bagpipes (courtesy of our resident inexplicable Scot, of course), the cavalry arrives! And Ricky gets super tazed in the process, because he didn't have enough going wrong in his life. Anyway they rescue the hostages, Ricky decides he wants to be part of this group of charming rascals and joins the team officially.

Thirteen years later, and writing all of that out, I truly question his sanity.

So how does the pilot hold up? Well, ahem, certain scenes aside... it's not so bad? I mean, all of the above does sound chaotic as fuck, but I mean, when you literally name your show CHAOS, I guess there's a little of that to be expected. And by the end of the episode, Billy at least starts to feel a little bad for them being unrelenting assholes to poor Ricky. Maybe this was why he was my favorite character back in the day (I mean, other than the fact that he's played by James Murray).

And now... onto the ratings!

Rating*: 🍸🍸🍸/5 Shaken Martinis. I subtracted an entire two points for the gd scorpion scene. CBS was way too proud of that in their marketing for this show.

* - I'm grading this show on a curve, considering it's been so neglected.

Idiot Spy Boyfriend Award: Since we have four lovely hunky spies to choose from, each episode I will give the following award to whoever acts the most like Theron Shan this time around. A completely bewildering metric for anyone who has not played SWTOR, but this is my blog and I make the rules. Today's winner is, of course, Billy, for needlessly playing GTA5 in traffic, nearly committing vehicular manslaughter about 15 times before I lost count, and also just… having a sound file of Scottish bagpipes at the ready???? Ricky, you do not get it for the 🦂, because that scene doesn't deserve to be rewarded. Try better next time.

Will there be a next time? I have no idea. I'm already wanting to rewatch the second episode, but we'll see if I have the spoons to do any more recapping.

[autisticjoys]

Video Games and Diversity: Wylde Flowers Part 1

SPOILER WARNING

Long post!

Wylde Flowers is a captivating game that combines elements of typical farming games (growing crops, tending to animals, collection items, mining, fishing), with elements of magic (crafting spells, brewing potions, a hidden magical village, nightly coven meetings) and even some room for romance, with 7 potential romantic partners.

You play as Tara Wylde, a woman in her late 20's who, following her losing her job and fiancé, moves from the big city to the island town of Fairhaven, to help her ill grandmother, Hazel, to run her farm. Soon, Tara finds out her grandmother, several of the town's residents and she, herself, are witches. She has to get used to running the farm, being a witch and after the passing of her grandma, she must help fight dark forces, solve mysteries and try finding a way to bring the townsfolk and the coven closer.

The game features a wide range of characters, and the casual representation of various ethnicities, religions and the inclusion of characters who are members of the LGBTQ+ community feels very refreshing, without ever feeling forced or overdone. There's a pride flag above town hall, the player gets to choose Tara's orientation and even the gender of her ex-fiancé, and her potential romantic partners include male, female and even a non-binary character. So, let's meet the characters!

Amira Syed is the Iranian town doctor and a member of the Fairhaven Coven, having the title of Adept. She's very openly flirtatious with Tara from the get-go and is one of her potential romantic partners. She refers to Wraiths (dark spirits) as Jinn, mentions she celebrates Nowruz and her favourite foods include Fesenjan, Jeweled Rice and Zeytoon Parvardeh.

Angus Seton is a baker of Scottish and Polish descent, whose shop is right next to the jewelry store run by his Puerto Rican fiancé, Francis Calderón. Angus is a member of the League of the Conscious Mind, something that causes friction with Francis, who doesn't like the League's teachings.

It is later revealed (after they've already gotten married) that Francis, like his older brother, is a witch and he joins the coven after they help free Angus from a Wraith, getting the title of Initiate (and eventually, Novice). After the coven is revealed, Angus, who has a fear of witches due to a family curse, feels conflicted at first, but ultimately declares he loves Francis no matter what.

Angus' favourite foods include Rumbledethumps, Skirlie and Pierogie, while Francis' include Arroz con Gandules and Asopao. In addition, they both have noticeable accents and Francis uses Spanish words, such as referring to a witch as a bruja and calling Angus cariño.

Aryel is a curupira demon, one of the Fae residing in Ravenwood Hollow, a magical community that exists between Fairhaven and the magical world of the Gloaming. He originated from the area of modern day Brazil and has a fondness of animals, and such, a strong dislike of the local rancher and butcher, as well as the former miners and is not above pranking people. His favourite foods include Malasada, Brigadeiro and Pacoquinha.

Bruno Soft is one of the elder residents of town, a fisherman who runs a bait shop and frequents the town bar. He is the son of a German immigrant, has been widowed for a while and has a somewhat estranged relationship with his son, Otto, the town's major and his wife, Vanessa, the teacher at Fairhaven's only school. He's not shown to be religious in any way and is shown to be progressive and accepting, such as when finding out witches exist and when referencing the fact that Tara's great-aunt was not straight.

His son, on the other hand, doesn't seem quite as accepting, being willing to put on witch trials and quick to accuse people of being evil and sowing seeds of chaos and fear. Otto's wife, Vanessa, turns out to be a witch who was rejected from the coven, and turned to dark magic to get back at them, nearly leading to a catastrophe, after which both her and her husband leave the island.

Cameron Conner, often called Messenger Cameron, leads the island's branch of the League of the Conscious Mind. A former Hollywood actor who was able to turn his life around after finding the League. His teachings are seen as controversial among townsfolk and his ideas of there being Malcontents (people who wish to do others harm), endanger the coven and wind up partially responsible for innocent people getting accused of witchcraft. After the coven is revealed, he starts questioning his beliefs and teachings. One of Tara's potential romantic partners.

Damon Mthembu-Haas is the South African owner of the local bar and a member of the coven by the title of Journeyman. His parents moved back to South Africa so his mother could return to her roots as a healer, leading to him inheriting his dad's bar. He's a kind and extroverted person who likes cooking up schemes and who is implied to have had a crush on the local florist before. He is one of Tara's potential romantic partners. His favourite foods include Cape Malay Curry, Bobotie and Chakalaka.

Giva Joshi is an Indian meteorologist who moves to Fairhaven after the bridge to the mountain pass is repaired. She's a practicing Hindu, and a lesbian, something that caused a split between her and her family, who wanted to sign her up for a well known matchmaker. She's curious and very passionate about her field, determined to figure out the cause behind Fairhaven's strange weather (caused by the coven having to turn the seasons magically). After Vanessa leaves, she becomes the new teacher, much to the kids' delight. Her favourite foods include Prawns Koliwada, Vad Pav and Pav Bhaji. She's one of Tara's potential romantic partners.

Gloria Miranda was a member of the Fairhaven Coven by the title of Illusionist, before her disappearance 4 years prior to the game's events. After her return, she becomes the new major, a post previously held by her husband. She is the mother of 2 children:

Violet is the local florist, who eventually boosts her store to serve as a boutique as well. She is a member of the coven, going by Acolyte at first, before being promoted to Herbalist, and eventually to Guardian.

Sebastian is one of the local school-children, working part-time at the stall and dreaming of leaving town as soon as he turns 18. The return of his mother and the reveal that he's a witch makes him decide to attend college online, at least for the first year.

The Miranda family's ethnicity isn't stated, tho they appear to be African-American.

Kai Hoapili is a Hawaiian surfer who wound up on the island after an incident. Whilst recovering, he met the owner of the local pop-up stall and eventually decided to stay and take over. He's very chill and easy-going, but admittedly misses being a part of the larger surfing community. He's one of Tara's potential romantic partners. It's mentioned in a comment that his community back home had religious practices, tho it's unclear if he himself is religious. His favourite foods include Haupia, Loco Moco and Manapua.

[goodolefashionedloverboi]

Soup or salad?

Soup !! Especially asopao (rice, vegetables, and chicken/pork/seafood)

[isabels-entries]

An Ode to the Son

I want to understand you. 

I walk down the beach in Borinquen, holding a photo near to my chest, listening as the waves crash and bury my foot prints.

Did you walk here too? 

Run into the water and curse the Father for leaving you to suffer as he empties another bottle?

Is your past buried too?

I go towards the shoreline and that's when I see your face. 

The same eyes, downturned and Jasper.

A smile so tight, it starts to hurt to see.

Did he look through those eyes when he came back in?

Bellowing out his pain in punches and screams.

The ones I caught when you’d been gone too long.

Come home smelling of Tequila and a pretty woman from San Juan.

Did you also shrink down into a corner and pray that you could stay hidden, 

Knowing that if he dared to touch mom, you’d have to step in?

I want to understand why.

I’ve hated my face since thirteen, scared it meant I’d follow along with the white lines on the kitchen counters.

Lean too hard on empty bottles and lay in shattered glass till it was too late to come back.

But you stood up.

I watched you pull out the shards and bandage the places where you believed you could start again.

You kicked off your sandals and left new prints.

I want to know you.

There’s a life where we can share a smile again. 

Something soft and warm, asopao already cooking on the stove.

You apologize and I tell you I understand where your heart is.

You apologize like you wish he did then and remember how you had three little kids,

Gone, yes, but still waiting for a father to step in. 

I.A.

[murcielagatito]

mami made asopao con bolitas de plátano yesterday and today we r making arroz con dulce :)

[snailsandpuppy-dogtails]

More Words Monday

“And before you get all...the way you are," he says, waving a hand at her, "I know. I remember you don’t eat meat, Chica. This was a very hard won request for me. Do you know what it’s like asking an old Cuban lady to change her Ajiaco recipe? She hung up on me. Twice. When I told her what you mean to m-the team, she still flat out refused and said it wouldn’t be the same, but she did say the Asopao she’d make for Papi could work.”