Throughout my whole life, cooking has always been a huge part of my culture, lifestyle, and personal identity.
For those who don’t know me well, I am almost 100% Italian with a little bit of Greek and German too. My Italian culture predominantly takes over because it comes from both my mom’s and my dad’s side of the family.
Naturally, I have always been closer to my mom’s side of the family. My grandparents live two blocks away, my uncle lives a couple blocks away, my cousins don’t live too far, and we always had some sort of family gathering, especially during the summertime.
When growing up I have noticed that cooking has been a huge part of my family. Within my house and my grandparent’s house especially we did most of the cooking. Whether it was for someone’s birthday, preparing for a holiday, a cookout, or sauce Sunday we would be in the kitchen making something delicious.
Unlike most people my age I love to cook. Cooking is a fun and creative way to show your passion for food, show your love for others, and remain connected to your culture.
Every Sunday no matter what my grandma would always make homemade spaghetti. She made the whole 9 yards including, the pasta, sauce, meat, a salad, and Italian bread. I loved when she did this because it was honestly just really nice to sit down with my family and enjoy a homemade meal.
Along with spending time in the kitchen and sitting down at the dinner table came many memories and stories. Every time whether it was my mom, uncle, dad, or grandparents someone always had something to share. Sometimes it would be a funny story or maybe even a more sedimental memory.
My favorite memory when it comes to cooking with my family is around Christmas time. At Christmas time we always spend so much time baking over a dozen different cookies and prepping other foods for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Preparing all of these wonderful foods was a fun way to spend time with my mom and grandma and learn some of their ways to become a great cook for my own family someday.
Honesty, I am very grateful that I have grown up with cooking being incorporated into my family. It has allowed me to feel more connected with my culture and my family. Certain recipes have stuck.