How We Got Here
It started when my cousin was shot in the leg. I know, this isn't a great start for a food blog, but there needs to be some context about my weird family situation. I'm a woman in my 40s, never married and childless. I care for my handicapped mother, who's in her 70s, and now my cousin, who is 20. My mom and cousin are Puerto Rican. I also consider myself Puerto Rican, but I'm really a 'Sorta Rican'. My father was white. I inherited his extremely pale skin and grew up in the continental United States. My Spanish is embarrassingly weak. I'd met my male cousin one time before he came to live with us. My mother and I went on a cruise to Puerto Rico and reconnected with my aunt and five children. She has four children now. One of my female cousins had been murdered four years ago. She was only 16. And, as I said, my other cousin was shot. My male cousin was 13 when I met him. He was 5' 11" and looked like he was still growing. We tried to