By THE BABY IS COMING. Jenny went into labor at 3 AM on Tuesday and Miguel Jr. called me and I was dressed and in my car with my hospital bag and my container of sofrito in seven minutes flat. Eduardo drove. I sat in the passenger seat gripping the armrest and talking to God, to Abuela Consuelo, to Mami who was asleep in her apartment and did not know yet, to the universe, to anyone who was listening: please let the baby be healthy. Please let Jenny be okay. Please let everything be perfect. Please.
Lucas. His name is Lucas. Lucas Miguel Delgado-Ortiz, born May 15, 2018, at 11:42 AM, seven pounds six ounces, twenty inches long, all ten fingers, all ten toes, a full head of dark hair, and the lungs of a Delgado — meaning he screamed the moment he arrived and did not stop for forty-five minutes and I have never been prouder of a sound in my life.
I held him. I held my first grandchild, my first nieto, my Lucas, and I wept. I wept openly in the hospital room — my hospital, the hospital I have worked at for twenty years, the hospital where I have fed thousands of patients and now my grandson was born here, in this building, in this place that has been my second home for two decades. I held him and he was warm and tiny and his eyes were closed and his fist was clenched and his mouth was searching for something to eat and I thought: I will feed you. I will feed you, mijo. Every day. Every meal. From this moment until my last moment, I will feed you.
Jenny was exhausted and beautiful and she looked at me holding her baby and she said, Carmen, he has your nose. MY nose. The Delgado nose. The nose that has smelled sofrito cooking in ten thousand pots. The nose that knows when the beans are done without looking at the clock. That nose, on this baby face. I kissed his forehead. I whispered to him in Spanish because his first words from his abuela should be in Spanish: Bienvenido, mi amor. Welcome to this family. You are going to eat so well.
I called Mami from the hospital room. I said, Mami, you are a bisabuela. She cried. Luz Maria Ortiz, eighty-one years old, cried on the phone from her apartment in Hartford, and through the tears she said, What is his name? I said, Lucas. She said, Lucas. She said the name three times, tasting it, trying it on, wrapping it around her heart. Then she said, Bring him to me. I want to hold him. I said, Soon, Mami. Soon. And when you hold him, you can tell him more garlic. The tradition starts now.
The day I came home from the hospital, I stood in my kitchen and needed to make something with my hands. Something fresh, something alive, something that smelled like every good thing I have ever known. I reached for the tomatoes, the cilantro, the lime, and yes — extra garlic, because Mami said so and Lucas will learn this too. This pico de gallo is the first thing I made as an abuela, chopping through happy tears at my cutting board, and I swear everything tasted better than it ever has.
Pico de Gallo
Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Total Time: 15 minutes | Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 6 medium ripe Roma tomatoes, seeded and finely diced
- 1/2 cup white onion, finely diced
- 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
- 1/3 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced (or more — always more)
- Juice of 2 limes
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Dice the tomatoes. Cut the Roma tomatoes in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds with a spoon, and finely dice the flesh. Place in a medium mixing bowl.
- Prepare the aromatics. Add the finely diced white onion, minced jalapeño, chopped cilantro, and minced garlic to the bowl with the tomatoes.
- Season and toss. Squeeze the lime juice over everything, then add the salt and black pepper. Stir gently until all ingredients are well combined.
- Let it rest. Cover and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes to let the flavors marry. Taste and adjust salt or lime juice as needed before serving.
- Serve fresh. Enjoy with tortilla chips, spooned over tacos, alongside grilled meats, or straight off the spoon the way abuela does when nobody is looking.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 25 | Protein: 1g | Fat: 0g | Carbs: 6g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 200mg