Tell us about our favourite food memory from your childhood...
There are so many. My family is a very food-centred family. My mom raised us to love and appreciate a good meal. She cooked dinner almost every single night and packed our school lunches with sandwiches made from leftover chicken piccata. There’s not a specific favourite food memory from childhood but more of a feeling when thinking back on the meals we used to eat as children. How even on days where I’m sure my mom was struggling with stressors and anxieties of being a single mom and I know the last thing she wanted to do was cook dinner, her salmon seasoned with Mrs. Dash and baked with lemon slices on top will be something I remember forever. Or the pan fried tofu she would make us to eat with rice. Or her above mentioned chicken piccata that she would make for lunch sandwiches the next day. Food memories from childhood make me remember how much my mom cared for us and how, even on her hardest of days, she always wanted us to eat well. She loved us.
What would your advice be to someone who is new to cooking and is looking to put more love into the ritual of preparing food at home?
My number one advice isn’t really anything tangible but more emotional. If you’re new to cooking, find joy and happiness in cooking what sounds the most delicious to you. Or when flipping through a cookbook or looking online, cook something that you think looks beautiful. It’s okay to be shallow, sometimes. Cooking is something that is often talked about as something we do for others. It is something we do to show love, care and friendship for those in our lives. But I feel like there isn’t enough appreciation for cooking solely for ourselves! To indulge! To celebrate the mini joys of that day! To show love and tenderness to ourselves! To take care of us! Find love in tending to your body, your cravings, your needs, your wants. The ritual is taking the time.
" I will never, ever forget how such a simple meal could feel so nourishing and loving. It was like my brother understood how hard a time I was going through so he poured all his love and care into this meal and I felt so loved. He didn’t need to say anything. I was so thankful, I could have cried. I’ll never forget it."