Cooking food for other people is my #1 way of showing them love and appreciation. It's something in which I can take pride and something that inevitably makes friends and family happy, barring a failed recipe here and there. Yes, a little blood, a lot of sweat, and a ton of tears are involved (the last courtesy of onions), but that is exactly what makes the gift so special. The motto in my family, "Don't give a gift you can't use yourself," also holds true; being in the kitchen provides me the opportunity to be creative, and I always get a taste of what I'm cooking. Food is also a practical gift. When I was little, my mom told me to avoid gifting food because food doesn't last. In an age where we are all weighed down with clutter, though, I have realized that food is an awesome gift for a minimalist to both give and receive. And if the food is consumed alongside the person receiving it, allowing for good conversation and communion? Even better. I cooked a three-course picnic dinner for my Robertson family today: chips & homemade pineapple salsa, chipotle-mushroom tacos, and peanut-raisin-chocolate chip oat cookies. It took three hours to make, but I enjoyed every moment. True, the food didn't last; it rarely does when you have twenty college kids swarm around it at once. But the laughter, the dancing, the conviviality--all the positivity that sourced from a simple meal--will have a lasting impact on our relationships with each other. To my fellow Robbies, thank you for an amazing past eight months (and I can't wait to get to know the five of you who just joined us!). Thank you for simply existing and inspiring me with your dedication to youth education, refugee resettlement, environmental sustainability, and beyond. Thank you for being in my dorm room at the drop of a hat as I struggled with homesickness and an eating disorder. Thank you for the kind words you so generously shower on me, and thank you for allowing me--and believing me--when I do the same for you. Before college, I had been excluded from several social groups, and the fact that you recognize my existence and say "hi" to me and smile when you walk in the room...it means more than you know. I am not lying when I say that you are the best, most reliable and sincere group of friends I have ever been blessed to know. I love each and every one of you. And of course, this post would be incomplete if I didn't thank my friend Thomas for taking all these amazing photos. He spent two hours in a hot kitchen with me staging the photos, adjusting the lighting, and attempting to explain highly technical terms to my inexperienced mind. It was because of him I finally bought a book on food photography and am going to learn a skill I have wanted to learn for years. It will take me a long, long time and many, many cooking sessions to get to be anywhere near as good as him! Check out more of his photography here. A little bit about the food itself, because I really appreciate it too :) The chipotle-mushroom tacos and cookies were modeled after recipes from my vegan bible, the Isa Does It cookbook. I wrote about this cookbook several months ago, and I am still working my way through cooking every single recipe in the book. The salsa came from The No Meat Athlete Cookbook, another great resource. The pineapple combined with mint gave it a unique, fresh flavor.
I would gladly cook for any of you reading this; much appreciation and love for all!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
October 2018
Categories
All
|