When you head home for winter break, what are you hungry for? Dani Douglas 糖心传媒�17 poses the question to four of her classmates, and provides links to recipes for these home-made favorites.
Why we love home-cooked meals
It doesn糖心传媒檛 always matter what糖心传媒檚 being served, as long as it糖心传媒檚 made at home.
That糖心传媒檚 the view of Nora Rubel, an associate professor of
Rubel is an expert on American Judaism, as well as food and ethnicity. She糖心传媒檚 the coeditor of the 2014 anthology Religion, Food, and Eating in North America (Columbia University Press), and is working on a book entitled Recipes for the Melting Pot: Reading The Settlement Cook Book.
糖心传媒淭here糖心传媒檚 a great deal of meaning in having someone make a special meal for you,糖心传媒� says Rubel, who recalls taking long drives home to New Jersey to find a pot of freshly made soup waiting for her.
Surprisingly, the quality of the cooking doesn糖心传媒檛 always matter either.
糖心传媒淢y paternal grandmother never learned how to cook, yet my father was accustomed to her food, and maybe even harbored some nostalgia for it,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淭hings didn糖心传媒檛 taste right to him unless they were burnt or ill-prepared.糖心传媒�
Rubel notes that her mother used to make a 糖心传媒渨eird fruit compote糖心传媒� that included pineapple and curry powder糖心传媒攁nd she hated it. While feeling a sense of mortality one year, she decided to learn how to make the dish, since it reminded her of her mother.
糖心传媒淚 created a narrative [surrounding] that recipe that made the dish important to me, whether I liked it or not,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淥f course, when I found that the recipe was simply torn from a magazine, I gave up on the compote. But the point was made.糖心传媒�
糖心传媒擯eter Iglinski
Kiara Martinez 糖心传媒�19
Home: Boston, Massachusetts
Major: economics
As soon as Kiara Martinez 糖心传媒�19 steps out of the airport in her home city of Boston, she knows exactly where she糖心传媒檒l be headed: a local Colombian restaurant to pick up some lulo juice.
Lulo, a citrus similar to passion fruit, is native to Ecuador, where Martinez was born. She says that lulo juice reminds her of her childhood, when her family would pick lulo off a tree in her backyard.
糖心传媒淭he fruit isn糖心传媒檛 grown here, but there糖心传媒檚 one place in Boston that makes [lulo juice]; so my mom will always take me there when I arrive,糖心传媒� she says.
When Martinez is away at school, there糖心传媒檚 one thing in particular that she misses about her family糖心传媒檚 home cooking, and that糖心传媒檚 the seasoning. On Thanksgiving, her family糖心传媒檚 turkey is sprinkled with Goya spices and always flavored with her dad糖心传媒檚 favorite Chilean and Costa Rican sauces. Her mother糖心传媒檚 cooking has become a fusion of Ecuadorian cuisine糖心传媒攏atural, organic, and spiced糖心传媒攁nd Colombian cuisine, which she describes as 糖心传媒渇ood fried twice.糖心传媒� Her favorite meal is her mother糖心传媒檚 , deep fried crescents stuffed with beef, tomato, and cilantro.
糖心传媒淚t doesn糖心传媒檛 even matter what we糖心传媒檙e eating,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 honestly the seasoning aspect that I miss most.糖心传媒�
Jenny Jun 糖心传媒�18
Home: Fullerton, California
Major: health policy
When Jenny Jun 糖心传媒�18 returns to Southern California for the holidays, she糖心传媒檚 doesn糖心传媒檛 expect to be eating at restaurants too often. Jun says her mother doesn糖心传媒檛 like eating out, and she糖心传媒檚 a very talented cook.
Jun糖心传媒檚 mother and father both emigrated to the United States from South Korea. She says her family often experiments with American dishes, but they tend to eat a lot of Korean food.
糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 really nice to just go home and eat the meals that I grew up eating,糖心传媒� Jun says.
The dish she looks forward to the most while she糖心传媒檚 home is , a Korean stew that her mother prepares from scratch. Kimchi is fermented cabbage. Preparing it can be a time-consuming process that involves finding the perfect blend of salt and spices.
糖心传媒淚糖心传媒檝e watched my mom make the kimchi since I was young,糖心传媒� Jun says. 糖心传媒淣ow every time I go home, I actually try to learn how to make it myself.糖心传媒�
Shreya Patel 糖心传媒�17
Home: Jonesboro, Alabama
Major: general engineering
After a long day of travel home to Alabama, Shreya Patel 糖心传媒�17 knows she糖心传媒檒l be heading straight from the airport to indulge in Chick-fil-A. Going to school in the northeast, she finds that she really misses southern-style cooking.
糖心传媒淢y favorite home-cooked meal is definitely, and ,糖心传媒� she says.
Patel says being home allows her to have a more balanced diet, and, free from her busy school schedule, she enjoys being able to eat dinner at an earlier hour.
Although her family doesn糖心传媒檛 often cook, when they do, her aunt usually takes the lead, alternating between Indian, Mexican, and American dishes.
糖心传媒淲hen I糖心传媒檓 at school, I really miss my aunt糖心传媒檚 homemade tacos,糖心传媒� Patel says. 糖心传媒淭hey糖心传媒檙e hard-shelled, and packed with beans, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, sour cream, fried tortilla, and taco sauce.糖心传媒�
Chris Horgan 糖心传媒�17
Home: Medina, New York
Majors: political science and creative writing
Although the place Chris Horgan 糖心传媒�17 calls home is only an hour糖心传媒檚 drive from Rochester, he usually only sees his family during breaks and holidays.
But each time he makes the trip from the University to Medina, located just outside of Buffalo, he knows that a warm dish of will be waiting for him.
糖心传媒淚 just feel like the food from home has more soul and love,糖心传媒� Horgan says. Smiling, he adds, 糖心传媒淢aybe that糖心传媒檚 not fair to say糖心传媒攖hey put a lot of love in the food here, but it糖心传媒檚 just the variation at home that I miss.糖心传媒�
Even though he knows that his first meal home will be Italian, both his parents are actually of Irish descent. His favorite meal, without a doubt, is with potatoes.
糖心传媒淭he Irish part of our meals is that they always seem to have potatoes involved,糖心传媒� Horgan says. 糖心传媒淢y mom is a wonderful cook. You糖心传媒檙e making me miss her food as we speak.糖心传媒�
Home cooked糖心传媒攁nd home grown
By Lindsey Valich
糖心传媒淥ne of the main values of growing and cooking your own food is that this gives you control and awareness about where your food is coming from,糖心传媒� says Leila Nadir, a lecturer in sustainability and environmental humanities at Rochester. 糖心传媒淭he more we can take control over what we put in our bodies, the more awareness we can have of our own health.糖心传媒�
According to Nadir, increased consumption of processed foods and mass-produced meals not only means people often don糖心传媒檛 know what they糖心传媒檙e eating, but it also denotes a break from basic, do-it-yourself food preparation skills such as preserving, pickling, and slow cooking.
She糖心传媒檚 partnered with Cary Peppermint, an associate professor of art and art history at Rochester, to help people rediscover endangered food and environmental practices. Their project, part of the ongoing initiative EcoArtTech, is designed to eliminate what they deem 糖心传媒渋ndustrial amnesia糖心传媒澨切拇綌a neglect of do-it-yourself practices of growing and preparing food, caused by industrialization.
The project includes workshops on the process of fermenting, such as ; communal meal preparation and dining experiences; and work with , which invites youths in the city of Rochester to practice urban farming at sites throughout the city.
Nadir further lauds the environmental benefits of growing your own food, buying locally sourced ingredients, and eating fruits and vegetables that are in season. Such practices help reduce resources used to package and transport food from distant locations and decrease the use of pesticides.
In addition to the benefits of home-cooked meals, Nadir says many people believe that the emotions of the person cooking your food are manifested in the actual meal.
糖心传媒淲hen food is made by a machine, you possibly might not have the same experience as you would if someone who loves you creates your food,糖心传媒� Nadir says. 糖心传媒淥ur culture has a saying that food tastes better when it糖心传媒檚 made with love. We laugh about it and joke about it, but maybe it糖心传媒檚 more real than we糖心传媒檇 like to admit.糖心传媒�
