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cookinginvictoria
November 6, 2013
The kitchen and the act of preparing food and eating it is the lifeblood of our home. Everyone -- including my eight year old daughter -- weighs in on meal planning and gets to choose at least one dinner menu every two weeks. My daughter also takes great pride in writing the week's dinner menus on a chalkboard in the kitchen. Our family takes the time to eat dinner together, pretty much every night. Sometimes this is tricky when evening extracurricular activities such as soccer and piano lessons intrude, but we are determined to have this family time together, so we make it work, even if means having an early (or late!) dinner. During our evening meals, we talk, we tell stories, we describe our favorite parts about the day, we discuss world events, we have spelling contests, and, of course we eat simple, but delicious food. I always look forward to our evening ritual -- it's the most relaxed and fun part of the day for me. I feel like it has really cemented our family bond in countless ways. :)
AntoniaJames
November 6, 2013
If life were a symphonic score, our nightly family meals would be the downbeats in each measure, giving structure, meaning and coherence. ;o)
Mahdi
November 5, 2013
Food brings family and friends together like magnets. The party or gathering always ends up in the kitchen area, and guests always stay longer when you provide sustenance!
Jessica
November 4, 2013
Food is a big part of our family, we love to share recipes and surprise each other with new ones at big dinner parties.
Lily,Sheng
November 4, 2013
Food brings us cooking together! There's no cultural or generation divide when we're all in the kitchen, watching one another and bouncing ideas off of each other.
Keegan W.
November 4, 2013
Food is tradition. Having a family or friend dinner with a group of people who have been in each others lives for many years is a narrative in tradition based mainly on the food prepared. I love holidays when we pull out my Grandmothers Christmas bread recipe. My Mom and I spend a day baking and reminiscing about what a wonderful lady she was.
Heather
November 4, 2013
Every day, my co-workers gather in the Common area for food, laughs, and a break.
Sandy
November 4, 2013
Every night my family and I try to sit down and eat together. It's especially important for my husband and I to instill this habit in our children who are very young. Once a month our cousins make a point of gathering together and throwing a potluck dinner. It's a great excuse to spend time together and share our love of food.
arcane54
November 4, 2013
Food has been a central part of my family connection and is now how many of my friends gather -- to share a meal, tell stories, toast one another's successes and life's milestones, sweeten the bitter, and soothe broken hearts. Food is how I love the people around me.
Poppies A.
November 3, 2013
Food brings my friends and I together to celebrate having survived another day, week, or quarter of graduate school, and to find some time to enjoy the meals that we preach as future dietitians.
EmilyS1220
November 3, 2013
As an eclectic family (we represent German, Lebanese, Italian, and Chilean)cooking and food brings us together because we all have different specialties and knowledge. We love learning new tips and recipes from each other and have a great time doing it!
Jen P.
November 3, 2013
Food brings the women of my family together through the endless consultations and discussions that accompany the cooking of a large family meal. We don't have that closeness at any other time.
Andria S.
November 3, 2013
As the daughter of a chef and the grand-daughter of an exceptional cook I often felt that the culinary gene just skipped me. They seemed to understand without trying the combination of flavor profiles, the chemistry behind baking and able to create magic from sheer nothingness in the fridge. It wasn't until I had a home of my own, a hungry husband and a child on the way that I finally attempted to learn to cook beyond my comfort zone. It was the drive to find whole, delicious and local food for my family that forced me to expand my boundaries, master the recipes and eventually break free to create my own. Taking my young family's feedback and adapting it to suit all their flavor preferences while maintaining a whole foods lifestyle and striving to raise adventurous eaters has been my goal. I am finally at a place where I am not longer intimidated by my Mother and Grandmothers's kitchen because I found that elusive element I was always missing, passion for and about food. I have tried to bring this to my children and it has been exciting in the last 10 years to have cross generational cooking ages 5-85 in the kitchen, each of us bringing a new element to the recipes we prepare.
Karin W.
November 3, 2013
As family we always liked to gather in the kitchen to watch my grandmother cook because her food was so good. Yet, she would never let us write any of the instructions down. She liked to keep her recipes a secret. My cousins used to hover around her in the kitchen and they would commit certain aspects of her recipes to memory without writing anything down. Once grandmother saw a pen and paper she would begin to add incorrect ingredients for instance mayonnaise in oatmeal. We also liked to spend time with my grandmother in her garden which was filled with vegetables (potatoes, watermelon, cucumbers, tomatoes, red cabbage, sugar snap peas and almost anything that she could fit in the garden) and flowers. In time, we would spend time with her in the garden, pulling weeds and picking ripe vegetables off of the vines during the harvest time. Since grandmother has passed away we still maintain gardens and we gather at each other's homes to bring in the harvest from the gardens in the fall. Grandmother's traditions passed down to us and we maintain them at our own homes and with each other. Although I am willing to share my recipes. :-)
Karin W.
November 3, 2013
My grandmother grew up cooking for her 12 brothers and sisters and after they had left home and after her own children grew up and married, people would still stop by and gather at my grandmother's house, especially, during the holiday season. Grandmother lived in Knoxville, TN and we lived up North. So when we went for a visit, grandmother would always prepare breakfast on the last day of our visit just before we hit the road to return to the North. Grandmother started to prepare breakfast at 5 am. Breakfast included scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, grits, biscuits (homemade) and gravy, fruit salad, ham and red eye gravy, cereal, oatmeal and fried chicken along with coffee and orange juice. And members of the family (aunts, uncles, and cousins) would stop by to see us off and to eat breakfast as well.
JeanBean
November 3, 2013
As the youngest of seven children, my mother (though an excellent cook) was thrilled with the efficiency of food from a box. It wasn't until leaving the urban landscape of affordable prepared foods for the mountain west that I had to learn to boil water. I quickly discovered that preparing foods and impromptu dinner parties was a great way meet people and start new friendships. People are more tolerant of learning and experimentation in a home party environment: it's certainly a good laugh when something flames up and satisfying when it all comes together, but always good fun for all.
russeaime
November 3, 2013
Growing up, my mother insisted we have dinner together every night regardless of what was going on. Often this meant we didn't eat until 8pm (since both my parents worked full time) and it might be a simple meal of spaghetti and Italian sausages. But even the big family events always revolved around food as a way to enjoy things together.
Miss F.
November 3, 2013
We always had dinner as a family growing up. It was one of the biggest things I missed going to college and living alone as an adult. I now love making food for people. I love seeing how happy people get when they eat good, filling food. It's now one of my favorite things to throw dinner parties and have lazy chatty meals with people and see their happy faces at the end.
sticksnscones
November 3, 2013
My family loves to plan meals, then divvy up the recipes & stake out their territory in the kitchen. Messy but fun!
Anne
November 2, 2013
I try to make some foods from my culture and that helps bring a new experience to my family. In addition to getting to share food with friends and family. Sharing recipes and having a club where we cook on a theme for fun.
merrygourmet
November 2, 2013
We started having family dinner with our children when they were babies. It was tough going when they reached the toddler stage, but now that they are 7 and 9 (almost 10), it's something we all look forward to. While sharing a meal with each other, we have some quality moments to also share the events of our daily lives with each other.
Lana
November 2, 2013
Every Friday night my family comes together for a home-cooked meal that I prepare -- my siblings, nieces, nephews, husband, and any friends who need a place to go. We eat a lovely meal together and each take a turn sharing our rose (highlight) and thorn (lowlight) of the week. It helps us all stay connected!
Cook W.
November 2, 2013
I can't imagine a family life without food at the center. Growing up, and now with my own family, food's central to our life. We sit at the dinner table most nights and eat dinner together. We pick the menu for our birthday dinner and plan other celebration meals. Inviting friends over to share a meal is one of our favorite ways to spend time together. How does food bring my family and friends together? In countless ways; I cherish the time I spend in the kitchen and around the table.
pretty_pathetic
November 2, 2013
My family and I are always emailing recipes to each other, and my partner and I keep a shared notebook of our favorites. So even though there's a lot of distance between us, we can always come together over cooking.
Kacia
November 2, 2013
Food has always been a meeting and social time for me, whether preparing, enjoying, or cleaning up after it. It was for my years growing up in a family of seven where we all pitched in to help, and it is now that it's just my husband and I (unless we're joined by guests, which is one of my favorite things to do!)
Patricia C.
November 2, 2013
Holidays make wonderful foodie gatherings with family, but impromptu dinners are the best for casual food and conversation.
heyjude
November 1, 2013
Breakfast and lunch are often on the run and at odd times, but dinner brings us into the kitchen and then the dining room for shared tastes and time.
BarnesJ
November 1, 2013
Everything is about food! I cannot even imagine any good times with family and friends without food.
Orazie S.
November 1, 2013
Food brings my family together every Friday night it is a time to catch and enjoy the bounty of great food cooked with love!
Crystal C.
November 1, 2013
Love cooking with ky boyfriend and actually sitting at the table to eat.
sexyLAMBCHOPx
November 1, 2013
Entraining with food brings together everyday meals and upgrade them with great conversation and memories with love ones. A home cooked meal that's shared and a tribute to our heritage, customs in an intimate setting and a chance to really really connect.
Jr0717
November 1, 2013
Food brings us into the kitchen every morning and evening, gives us a medium to express ourselves to each other, comforts us as a whole when times are rough, and brings us joy during celebrations and the good ol' days. There are few things that I can think of that are so permeating, uniting, and provoking for my family, and I can only respect it as a medium that unites us in its own way every day.
drlbennett
November 1, 2013
My family is all about food. Not just cooking and eating, it's also a major conversation topic. What great restaurants did you find on your recent vacation? Let me tell you about this new recipe I tried
Cindy W.
November 1, 2013
Food brings my family together by cooking and eating childhood favorites. Our mother is no longer able to cook, so my sisters and I try to recreate our childhood favorites, mostly Burmese food.
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