Rice and Beans Portal

We have rice and beans for dinner almost every night,
white rice and red beans or yellow rice and guandules made with Sofrito.
ma pulls out her burnt stainless steel pot,
heats the pot,
pours some olive oil into the pot,
digs her spoon into the sofrito jar and splats the red Sofrito into the pot,
cracks a can of guandules beans,
pours them into the pot,
adds some white rice,
adds a little water and the water turns yellow,
everyone asks ma to make yellow rice and beans for family gatherings, she complains, but she always says yes to every request.
I think she likes being needed,
she looks at her kids and she feels like a failure,
she looks at her yellow rice and beans and she feels accomplished,
she's the same way about her mac and cheese too,
she only uses America's Choice shredded Mozzarella and Cheddar cheese in her mac and cheese,
she pulls out a large aluminum pan,
dumps a pot of noodles into the pan to hide her reflection
she bangs two eggs against the table and she graciously releases the egg yolk into the noodles
She calls for the tub of butter,
takes 3 large spoonfuls of butter and wings them into her pan,
She sprinkles in the mozzarella and cheddar cheese,
Spanks the bottle of Lawry's seasoning salt and springs seasoning on top of the mac and cheese,
she mixes the dish with her bare hands,
She removes her hands from the mixture and she raises her right index finger to her mouth to taste her creation,
it's missing something,
she adds some more Lawry's seasoning,
she scoops another finger of her creation and she raises her index finger to her mouth again to taste,
she closes her eyes and she smiles at the taste of her creation,
She feels accomplished...