Revised Blog 1: Family & Food

Food is the one thing all people have in common. True, it is necessary to our survival, but what is almost nearly as important is that everyone has certain memories attached to it. Meals are often times how my family connects. Throughout my life cooking has helped me to connect with family, meals have been the great conqueror of our many family problems (at least for a short while), and it sounds crazy but food has help to define the person I have become.

For example my grandmother is an excellent cook; she turns ordinary meals into exquisite but somehow still welcoming family gatherings. My grandmother also has the unique ability to cook something that my little brother actually enjoys; ever since he was little he has had a very selective palate; most people eventually grow out of this but he, somehow, has retained that trait. I guess that after having such delicious meals it’s hard to go back to the mundane cuisine of everyday life. What is even more amazing is that my Grandmother seemingly enjoys cooking for us more than actually eating the extraordinary food she makes. Talking over her dinners I have been able to connect with my family in a way that I never could have without food. I can picture it now; my family sitting around my grandmother’s table gazing at the remarkable entre she has created. I can taste it now, tender roast beef, mashed potatoes perfectly prepared, biscuits smothered in homemade fig preserves, green beans on the side, and to top it all off the most incredible dish ever created Brunswick Stew. This is the food worthy of gods.

Despite the undeniably good cooking of my grandmother, there is one thing that surpasses those scrumptious meals. Thanksgiving. In my family Thanksgiving is more than just a time to eat. Thanksgiving has the amazing ability to make every family member to set aside their differences, at least for a day, and share a delicious meal. It is truly amazing to see everyone working for the collective good of a family which has many differences. Aunts and uncles that would otherwise not talk take part in joyous conversations. The whole event seems rather peculiar to me. Every year I ask myself if this really could be possible, and every year I am completely baffled by the bizarre event. Are my family members simply putting on a front because they think it’s the proper thing to do, or is there something deeper to this anomalous event that is thanksgiving?

Thanksgiving also offers a chance for each member of the family to show off his/ her cooking skills. Everyone has their own special dish that they somehow perfect even further each year. We, however, have the most important and glamorous job, cooking the turkey. When I was a kid we roasted the glorious bird in the traditional method, but recently my Aunt Carol, who is from Columbia, introduced us to a new recipe native to South America. The process is quite time consuming but well worth the effort. Though I am no master of the process my-self, I have watched my dad prepare it and understand the basic principles. I know it involves mixing a variety of spices into a brandy and orange juice mixture. Once the concoction is more or less mixed the turkey is set into it for forty-eight hours so that the luscious meat can absorb all the sweet and tangy goodness. Once done marinating the turkey is placed in the oven where it roasts for several hours. After being cooked the turkey has a unique and wonderful flavor that everyone enjoys. The complements are endless and the satisfaction of cooking something great is always rewarding.

From my experiences with food I have learned that the best recipes are often not the ones from cook books or magazines, they are the ones passed down in the family for generations. For example my Great Aunt Hazel has kept alive the tradition of making sourdough bread and perfected the recipe. The bread has a subtle sweetness and is so tender it literally melts in your mouth, and because we only get the bread on rare occasions we savor each bite. However, just making the bread is an accomplishment because it requires a starter acquired from the previous batch, so the sourdough bread must be made continuously in order to keep the starter from spoiling. If it spoils, nearly a hundred years of effort will be wasted. Sure you could make another starter but it will not produce the same quality of bread because the starter is what gives the bread its unique flavor. Through her efforts I have really learned to appreciate all that goes into cooking even the most basic of foods, bread.

The process of making food has also helped to shape my identity. A few years ago I began to take a profound interest in cooking, but not in the way most people normally would. The majority of people who start learning to cook do so in order to survive away from home, to impress someone, or simply because they want to make great food. I however cooked to be creative as possible, the more outrageous the idea the more appealing it was to me. Most of the time my food concoctions were completely inedible, and they had to be thrown away immediately. After a while I began to realize that certain foods were just not meant to be combined and that while creativity is a good thing, moderation should be applied to all aspects of life. As my life slowly became more hectic I had less and less time to try more moderate methods of creativity in cooking, so I simply stopped. It is undeniable that I will have to cook sometime in the future, and every time I do I will remember one simple rule, everything in moderation.

From my encounters with food I discovered that it is unique and amazing. It is a common ground that allows for people to connect in a way I never have seen before. Through my experiences with this ordinary necessity I have bonded with family members, have seen it to mend relationships, and most importantly I have gained morals essential to a successful life.

Images Used

Photograph. (n.d.) From http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/pot_roast/ (accessed September 3, 2009)

Photograph. (n.d.) From http://www.grit.com/uploadedImages/ GRT/blogs/Lacy/SourdoughBread.jpg(accessed September 3, 2009)

Photograph. (n.d.) From http://vanelsas.files.wordpress.com/2007/11/turkey-dinner.jpg(accessed September 3, 2009)

Photograph. (n.d.) From http://danielcarlyle.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/03-ps36-3moderation-posters.jpg(accessed September 3, 2009)