About Us
I eat a lot of Mexican food. A lot. Not just because I live in Southern California, but because I’m also Mexican. I visit México twice a year since a lot of my family is there, so I’ve grown up with the best Mexican food around. I mean it. No Taco Bell for me. Well okay I do eat Taco Bell BUT I also get to eat delicious and legitimate Mexican food on the daily.
Apparently, ‘Calabacitas’ is Mexican food. The Spanish name should have given me some indication that it was, but in my house everything is in Spanish. I just assumed my mom was saying ‘squash’ in Spanish. Nope. Calabacitas is a Mexican dish that I’ve been eating and enjoying for years. I thought I’d share this awesomely traditional Mexican dish with the world.
What You Need:
2 lbs pork spareribs
2 Mexican squash
½ tomato
½ onion
1 ½ green bell peppers
½ can of whole kernel corn
2 tbsp olive oil
1 handful of cilantro
1 tsp salt
½ cup chicken broth powder
¼ cup water
(Disclaimer: This makes a LOT of food. I didn’t know I was cooking for a small party, but that’s what I did, so I guess I’ll have to throw one now. )
Step 1
Chop the spare ribs into strips along the bone. Go lightly over the strips with salt.
Step 2
Put the olive oil in a pan and place the meat in to cook. Do this first so that it is cooking while you dice. Dice the tomatoes, onions, peppers and squash and take the corn out of the can.
Step 3
The meat in the pan will start to look a weird ghostly grey. Start turning it around so it can cook all around. Then place the onions in the pan. Just the onions since they need to cook longer than the other vegetables. After 5 minutes, the onions should look golden brown. At this point add the bell peppers, tomatoes and squash. Let this cook on medium heat until all the vegetables are cooked and the meat is tender.
Step 4
Add the chicken broth, water and cilantro and corn on top and mix it in well. Leave it on low heat while the broth soaks in.
Now let it cool a bit and enjoy this savory Latin dish. Feel free to serve with rice and beans. I did.
All photos by Itzel Ayala/Gavel Media. 
School, major and year: A&S, Economics, 2015
HometownRancho Cucamonga, California
What makes the Gavel so BANGin’? We keep it fresh. It’s drippin with swagger and is home to some of the coolest cats on campus. The Gavel is always fun and I’ve met nothing short of amazing people and writers here.
You have 24 hours to give prospective students a tour of BC and convince them to enroll. How do you spend the day? I’d start by getting some coffee and a personalized omelet at Mac. Then we’d go lose our voices at a football game and wear our super awesome Superfan shirts. We would then go see one of the amazing Acapella groups perform. We’d get some Mac N Cheese from the Rat for lunch. We would go see My Mother’s Fleabag for an awesome good time. Then we’d take a break and visit the dorms (i.e. sit in my room and watch Mean Girls…because Mean Girls.). We would then go to a hockey game, then to the Mods, and end the night at Late Night.
If you could go back in time and give yourself a pep talk the night before you moved into BC as a freshman, what is the most important piece of advice that you would give to your former self? Eat your vegetables and take a lot of pictures.
What is your favorite study spot on campus? The Rat
What is your go-to meal at Late Night? That delicious Simply Orange juice the dining halls always have stocked. This and a personal pizza topped with ketchup. Judge all you want, but ketchup on pizza is the best thing to happen since Game of Thrones.
What is the #1 most played song on your iTunes? “I Always Knew” by the Vaccines
What is the best Halloween costume that you have ever worn? I was Minnie Mouse as a kid. Not trying to brag, but I rocked the ears off that costume.
If you could only eat at one restaurant for the rest of your life, which would you choose? Del Taco
If you could befriend the main characters from any TV show or movie, who would you choose and why? Easy. Harry Potter. (I’m assuming) I’d get to go to Hogwarts, be a wizard AND be friends with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. It’s a win win, for me anyway. If I can’t be a wizard then i’d be friends with the main characters from This Is The End.
