The Rhetoric Cookbook, ENG 1310. 042 Pt. 1

ENG 1310.042 Presents:

The Rhetoric Cookbook

Introduction Food is what brings us together. It’s intrinsically linked to our homes, our families, our cultures, our environment, and our experiences. While food is in no way neutral, it is certainly familiar to all of us— we all have a significant memory of food, whether it be a special meal made by someone we hold close, a time when food was really great, or maybe a time when we’ve tried and failed to make it.

In my classroom, we have a unique variety of languages, experiences, and cultures that have engaged with each other in scholarly discourse throughout what I believe we can all say was a difficult semester. Despite the challenges, these new scholars tested, explored, and challenged what it means to write and make sense of the inveterate symbol systems that we use to construct reality. I am proud of my scholars and their achievements in my class.

This cookbook was made by the hands of 22 people as an act of collaboration. It is not just a demonstration of the unique identities in my class but a celebration of it. Within these pages, you’ll find a rhetorical analysis of food, a self reflection about what food means to them, and a recipe that they’ve chosen to represent themselves in this cookbook for each student. At the very least, I think you’ll find something delicious to try out! Happy eating.

Sincerely, Professor Hannah McKeating

Table of Contents Carlos Baca, "Box of Chocolates,”… 1 Dawson Bailey, “Ratatouille”… 7 Devin Bibbs, “The Wonders of Food”… 14 Jackson Bolin, “Bread or Toast”… 18 Elizabeth Chapa, “What a Soup Kitchen Symbolizes”…24 Nicole Coyne, “Food’s Message to US”…31 Cindy De Blas Castillo, “Recuerdeme”…39 Jack DesJardins, “WALL-E”…47 Katie Frederick, “The Use of Food in Flowers in the Attic”…54

Box of Chocolates

By Carlos Baca

I

n this scene from the film Forest Gump, Forest is at a public bus stop waiting for his bus to come by and while he is waiting, he is socializing and telling stories about his life with people that choose to take a seat next to him at the stop.

He offers each person that sits and socializes with him a piece of chocolate from the box of chocolate that he is holding. As he is doing this, he remembers a saying that his mother used to tell him when she would give him some chocolate, it goes “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” In Forest Gump, the box of chocolate is being used to depict the symbolic meaning of life and the many unknowns that may come along with it.

A box of chocolate is very mysteries and unknown once you receive it. Chocolates come in various sizes, shapes, and flavors. The filling inside the chocolate range from a sweet caramel filling to a nasty bitter flavor that everyone leaves in the box. This shows us that our life has many different roads and path you can choose to take on just like what chocolate you want to eat and devour, and will that path be a sweet and rewarding one or harsh and awful one? (Morning Star, 2018). In the film he offers these strangers a chocolate because he is wanting them to join in and take the road of memory lane with

him. He talks about all his crazy adventures from his time at war during Vietnam or when he learned how to dance in his leg braces by the one and only Elvis Presley. In the process of him speaking about these subjects, he is channeling our pathos Pathos is at work in this scene because he is allowing himself to be vulnerable to complete strangers and putting down his walls. He wants these strangers to not to feel for him but to understand him. He is showing resilience talking about his life difficulties and obstacles that he has encountered. By giving these people a piece of chocolate, he is technically extending an olive branch and is offering peace offer. Which is showing us his true self and how tender and loving he is. Therefore, these strangers wait and listen to his endless stories about his life, but they see that he is a kind individual.

One thing about this scene that stands out is after his first conversation and that story he was telling concludes once the stranger got picked up by the city bus, is every time a new person arrives, he offers a chocolate and tells a different story to this Individual. So, this is showing that every chocolate does have a certain memory and meaning to Forest, he connects his story to these chocolates on a very deep level.Â

This is showing the viewers not only to live life to the fullest and to the great extent, but to show kindness to whoever you encounter. He displays a traditional southern kindness when he is interacting with these complete strangers. We should show kindness to everyone because we do not know what the individual might be going through in his life. They might have received an expired box of chocolate or choose a flavor they do not like.

In Conclusion when Forest says "Life is like a box of chocolates.

You never know what you're going to get.This is signifying that our lives are wonders and we get to choose the flavors we want to take on and consume. He uses pathos not only to talk and interact with the stranger he just meets, but with us the viewers.

He lets us take a seat at the park bench and listen in to his wild box of chocolates that he has collected over the years. We should live our lives like Mr. Gump and just roll with the punches and enjoy the good memories that you create with whoever you wish to offer a chocolate to.

El Chuco

I

was born and raised in El Paso, Texas where we are about 10 mins from our sister city Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua. My town is highly influenced by the Mexican ways and culture in and out of our homes. So, you can only imagine how amazing all the authentic Mexican food is going to taste like.

One thing is you don’t have to leave your home to receive a good meal, such as some delicious enchiladas verdes when your mom is whipping it up in the kitchen.

Traveling to other cities and towns and trying their food is nothing like home. I feel that El Paso is true Mexican food that is made with love every time. Not even just your average everyday food, even local little taco stands or the elote man take pride in what they do and serve. You can only imagine how delicious a fresh cup of corn topped with parmesan cheese and a tiny bit of red pepper on top taste. It might be small, but your taste buds will be begging you for more once you have finished your cup. When you are thinking of buying a cup of corn from a different location this one will pop into your head and you will say “The other cup of elote tasted better”. I think of home and its food all the time, nothing can better then El Paso cuisine.

Food is what brings my family together for any occasion and just to enjoy each other company when we are together.

Majority of the time we get together during the weekend to celebrate a special occasion like watching the Dallas Cowboys play against the New York Giants or to celebrate a holiday. For this event we would be making a carne asada, which is how we call a cookout in my hometown. The main entry for this is flank steak roast over a grill, guacamole with cueritos, baked potatoes and some grilled onion. When I think of one of my family get togethers this is the meal that will always pop into my head only because majority of my lifetime that is what we ate and came together for.

Food not only bought together my family for events like these but other members of my community as well. If you have a cookout at a local park you will see a good number of families do the same as yours. It is just something that everyone one does to spend quality time with others. Sundays are the days spent with family in El Paso. This day is when you will see everyone outside in their backyard or at the local park grilling something and listening to some oldies on 92.3 the Fox. This a usual thing to do on the weekend to start off the week right.

How you finish off the week will determine the outcome of the upcoming one.

One of the best memories I can have of food is when my grandma used to be around. She was the rock of our family

and she was the reason we used to get together for every holiday no matter what day it landed on. This one Christmas was the first time I have ever seen all my family together ever in one location. We all decide to make 12 dozen tamales from scratch, store bought tamales were not allowed around my grandma. Every member of my family had a role in making these tamales, from making the different fillings for the inside to smearing masa on the corn husk. We just worked and enjoyed each other’s company for this special holiday.

Sometimes I wish my grandma were still around to bring us together like we did that one year.

Food just makes you feel good and full and I’m not talking about all the tamales you had, it’s that warm feeling you get that I am talking about. When I am feeling sick my mom makes me a little Caldo to try and help me feel better. “Not having a good day?” my mom asks and when I respond that I am not she will make my favorite food to get my mind off things. Food might be just something we consume to take away hunger, but it is not that simple. It helps with your mental state, your health and just you’re over all well-being. I am thankful to see that food is used to show that you care for someone and that you support them. This is what I think food is. Love, Calories and Support.

Elizabeth's Pozole Rojo Recipe serves 5-8 Ingredient Pork Meat

Amount 10 lbs.

Chile Colorado

2 Bags

Bush's White Hominy Maiz

2 Cans

Bay Laurel Leaves

5 Leaves

Knorr Savue Caldo de Pollo

2 tbsp.

Cabbage

1 Head

Radishes

1 Bag

Limes

1 Bad

Santitas Tortilla Chips

2 Bags

Instructions: For Pozole Rojo: 1. Place large pot half full of water over a medium flame. Add all 10 lbs. of Pork Meat and 5 Bay Laurel leaves (make sure pork is submerged in water). You will let this sit for about 3 hours and stir the pot about every 20 min.

2. Before the 3 hours are up you will open the bags of Chile Colorado and cut open to remove some or all the seeds depending on your preference and cut off the head of the chile. Once the seeds and head have been removed you place them into a blender with hot water and blend until it has turned into a liquid. You will repeat this if all chile do not fit all at once.

3. Next after you have blended all the chile you will then pour it into the pot with the pork and bay laurel.

2. Next, get the 1 bag of radishes and dice those into little square or rectangles.

4. Then you will open the cans of Bush’s White Hominy Maiz and pour those into the pot as well.

3. Finally, get the 1 bag of limes and dice those into smaller pieces. You will place all these onto a serving dish and add them to the pozole if needed.

5. Finally, add the 2 tbsp of Knorr Savue

Toppings: 1. When the 3 hours are about to be up, you will get the 1 head of cabbage and slice it into fine thin pieces.

Ratatouille Analysis

By Dawson Bailey

T

he artifact that I choose is the scene from Ratatouille where the food critic Ego eats the meal made by Remi the rat. The name of the dish is called Ratatouille, they choose the dish because it is being made by a rat. In the scene we see Ego get served the dish which is a vegetable dish with multiple colors which he looks at it with disgust. When he takes a bite, the expression on his face says it all. We get taken back in time to when Ego was a kid running around when he goes inside to his mom where she cooks him a meal and he is smiling with joy because the food his mother made tastes so good.

In Ratatouille, the food is being used to show the symbolic act of memory. Food can be eaten at a certain time in anyone's life and if something happens either traumatic or not, later in that person's life if they eat the same food they can recollect the exact memory of what happened last time they ate the same food. In the movie the food critic eats the food then remembers the good times of his childhood and makes him have a different outlook on the food and restaurant. Food to me is a way for me to connect with my past memories and trips. I can always remember food that I have eaten on vacation and when I get to eat the same food I get a flashback to the time and it gives me a good warm feeling inside when I remember the trips.

The movie uses Pathos to show the audience how Ego changes. He goes from a sad and grumpy guy to a joyful and energetic man just by eating the food. The whole movie everyone who owns a restaurant is scared to serve Ego, he is known to be very harsh and never enjoys the food put in front of him. He disbelieved in Gustavo's belief that anyone can cook so he went into the critique already with a bad attitude. But once he takes that first bite and is taken back to his childhood his whole character changes. His character change also ties into Pathos.

The character change also has a little bit of Logos too. He believes that it is ridiculous that anyone can cook and that they have to be a trained chef who's been cooking their whole lives.

Then comes along Remy the rat and messes his whole ideology up. I believe that is one part of why he changed, he saw that a rat prepared a meal that is exactly like his mothers when he was a kid. He realized that anyone who has a faint idea of how to blend flavors could be a chef. After he reviewed the restaurant he would go back to the new one and was a regular customer. Ordering the same dish to get the same meaning of joy and emotional connection he with his mother who used to make the same dish.

Food can also be a comfort for when someone is sad or just having a bad day. The taste and the emotional value a dish can hold can change, cheer someone up and make them feel better about themselves. Another example of when food is used to show emotion is when Remy meets with his brother Emile outside Gustavo's restaurant. He shows Emile what it's like to eat good food and mix flavor profiles. As they are eating Remy asks Emile to describe what he tastes which he struggles with at first but Remy guides him a little bit and then he starts to understand.Colors start moving around the screen and they describe how each flavor is different and amazing but when you mix certain flavor profiles you make a new one with even more flavor. They start to laugh and enjoy the food changing Emile’s view on the food and where Remy works.which is a little bit of Ethos and Pathos mixed together.

Food is more than just food, it is a gateway into our pasts. It can comfort you when you're feeling down, it is more than just fuel you put into your body to function. It's about getting a certain feeling of either enjoyment or sentimental value.

In Ratatouille, the food is being used to show the symbolic act of memory. The food brought Ego back to a happier time and cheered him up, changing his outlook on life. If Ego never had the dish he would never have changed his stance on who can be a cook and how hard he critics restaurants.

The True Meaning of Food

F

ood has always held a lot of meaning to my family and I and we often use it as a way to connect with each other. I grew up around food, whether it was baking with my mom or cooking with my dad, and I think that shaped me into the person I am today. Because of my background and appreciation for food I find myself so excited to help my family in the kitchen at any given opportunity. Regardless of what different kinds of food I eat I always look forward to the flavor journey it takes me on. No matter how small or how inexpensive a meal can be it always helps me remember all the happy times that I've had with my loved ones. Food is very important to my family. Some of the recipes that my family uses have been passed down from generations. The older generations of my family were known to be cooks and chefs so cooking is in my blood.

More often than not I tend to recall the meals I've had while on vacation more than some of the actual experiences I’ve had.

There's something about the taste and the experience of eating food that makes it so memorable. One year my dad, brother, and I took a fishing trip to Alaska. We were staying in a lodge in a national forest which was pretty special. We would

wake up early and get in a Beaver (medium size float plane) and fly to a remote river and get dropped off for a day of fishing. We got about halfway through the day after catching plenty of fish, and our guide asked us if we’d like to catch and cook salmon. Once we agreed to catch and cook our own fish we caught one and began to fillet it. Eventually our guide asked us if we would like to try some raw fish which is something we had never done before. The water was extremely cold but our guide eventually cut me a slice off, put some soy sauce on top and gave it to me. That was the best ceviche I have ever had, the meat almost melted in my mouth. The experience of eating raw fish after catching it in an Alaskan river will probably be the best food eating experience I have ever had.

Since the end of high school I haven't gotten to hangout with all my friends like we usually do. We always would plan trips to this wing bar named Pluckers. It was always a go to and no one would say no to some wings. It started off as a Baseball thing for our high school team, but has grown to a meeting place for my other friend groups. It was a place we could all get together and talk about what's going on in our lives or what's going on at school. I enjoyed going there because when I’m with my friends is when I feel the most happy and the food at Pluckers makes it all the more special. The food at Pluckers is always good and when it's not they will gladly replace your food with something better. Now that most of my friends are in colleges around the state or out of state, it makes it hard for us all to get together and talk. I am thankful that every now and then

enough of my friends are in town for us to get a booth and enjoy some wings and macaroni and cheese.

One of my favorite things to do with my family is cook.

Everyone in the family is shown throughout their childhoods how and what cooking is. My favorite dish to cook is probably hamburgers. It's one of the dishes that I have so many memories surrounded by burgers. When I was younger after every baseball game my mom or my dad would take me to Whataburger. My go to order is the patty melt. It's two patties with cheese, fried onions, and a special sauce squished between two toasted slices of Texas toast. When I cook food I feel an emotional connection to the food I make. There's love and care put into it which I feel a person can taste. Another reason burgers are my favorite dish to cook is when I was younger my mother and I would go to all the burger places around Austin. I would judge the place's food then place the restaurant on a list to see who is the best. I loved doing this with my mom so I could spend time with her when she wasn't busy. I had another thing with my dad for food. Now with my dad we would go to the best taco places. This proved difficult at first because of how many taco stands and taco trucks available to us. I made my dad a list of twenty taco places that I wanted to go to in the span of two months. We would go to two places a week and talk about school and life. It was a nice break from reality and I got to spend time with both my parents and the bond over food made that possible for us.

I can talk about food all day. This one time my family and I took a trip to Florida a couple Christamas’ ago. We were sitting at the Airbnb bored and wanted something to do. We agreed on

going to a cuban sandwich place. Prior to leaving, we watched the movie “Chef” which features a cuban food place in Florida that serves sandwiches. We drove maybe an hour to go to the exact restaurant that was in the movie. When I got there and looked at the menu I knew I had to go with the classic Cuban.

The cook was quick with making it, it came out in maybe 5 minutes. The first bite of that sandwich was crunchy and satisfied my tastebuds. I had a in house lemonade and it was super sugary but was really good. The setting and knowing the scene in the movie made the meal even better. I felt like I was in the movie sitting in the background. When we finished I had to order an extra sandwich to go.

In conclusion, I think food is a wonderful way for someone to express their love to people they care about. It’s moments like cooking for someone you care about that really bring out people's emotions. Whenever I get the chance to cook for someone I never stray away from working my hardest to make it into a meal they will love.There's something about making someone food that makes you want to do your best. You want that person to be blown away with your skill and the taste of the dish. I think it's that pressure that makes people put love and care into their dishes, and that is what makes all food diverse from one dish to another. It's the love and passion that sets good food apart from amazing food. I have been lucky enough to grow up around people who genuinely enjoy the act of service and I have grown to love it myself. Whether I am helping my parents cook in the kitchen or preparing a meal for myself after a long day I always enjoy the process and getting the reward of enjoying a nice meal.

Alice Baird's Sopa

Ingredient

Amount

Lean Ground Beef

1 lb.

Medium Onion

1

Rice

1 Cup

Chili Powder

1 tbsp.

Salt

1 tbsp.

Pepper

1 tbsp.

Frozen Peas Water

1/2 cup 1 Cup

Instructions 1. Heat skillet to medium high heat with enough olive oil (or any oil of your choosing) to cover the entire surface of the skillet. Once the skillet is heated you can add 1 cup of raw uncooked rice.

2. Once the rice is a light brown color you can then add the 1lb of ground beef and chopped onion. Begin to slowly saute these ingredients until your ground beef is fully cooked.

3. Once your ground beef is fully cooked you can begin to add your can of diced tomatoes and a cup of water. Once again, bring the ingredients to a simmer and let cook for a few minutes. During this time you can add your chili powder, cumin, and salt and pepper to taste.

4. Once all the ingredients have been added to the skillet you may cover the skillet and let the rice soak up the spices you have added to your dish. Periodically check your dish to stir lightly and prevent any rice from sticking to the bottom of your dish. Add spices to your specifications!

5. Lastly about five minutes before you take the skillet off the stovetop add in your frozen peas and mix lightly into your dish. Once everything has successfully cooked you may plate your dish and serve to your loved ones!

The Wonders of Food

By Devin Bibbs

F

ood is my safe place in life and is very much a necessity.

I love being able to eat whatever I want whether it's healthy or not. Food gives me the energy to have a good day. I'm thankful God allows me to be able to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner. However sometimes I can miss the most important meal of the day Breakfast. Being in college I haven't had a home cooked breakfast so when I have breaks and go home for the holidays I tend to cook breakfast a lot because i miss the taste of real food. Breakfast to me is my favorite meal and favorite meal to make. Yes it's an easy and quick meal to make but sometimes certain meals require a little bit more attention. Breakfast is a meal you can whip up for dinner, lunch or even a snack, as many times in my life I have made some bacon just to eat on is crazy. Breakfast is a very convenient meal to make and it solves my hunger every time.

A significant memory I experienced would be me volunteering a few times for red-cross on the weekend. During the pandemic many were struggling to provide themselves with food due to the loss of their jobs. Being from Houston so many homeless people are downtown surviving on scrapes and trash and I felt the need to help out as much as I could. During the summer me and some of my friends took the initiative to volunteer for red-cross and help many in need of food. About

17 people bought different dishes of food to serve to the homeless. Me and my friends contributed to making macaroni and cheese and a broccoli cheese casserole. My community tries their hardest everyday to provide many with help and I feel wonderful to be able to provide someone who isn't doing that great in life and give them a little hope. Sometimes i think like could i have done something better but one lay told me what i had done was the nicest thing anyone has ever done for her. When she told me this i knew what i was doing was leaving a smile on many and was benefitting many. This experience made me cry and evaluate my life. I thanked God for everything he has done for me and being able to provide me with a life where food is absent in my life.

Before I left for college my brother made dinner for me. My brother never really just cooks for me so I felt special. So basically the time I felt special was when my brother cooked my favorite meal. He cooked roast beef, macaroni and cheese, and mashed potatoes with gravy. My brother honestly never cooks but because I was going off to college this was his way of saying he is going to miss me. I appreciated him cooking . It really let me know that he was proud of me accomplishing a very huge goal in my life. I guess growing up we have always shown a bit of tough love because

siblings usually have their ups and downs and argue but at times we could be nice to one another. But this was so unexpected and thoughtful that i cried a little. Even though it seems like something small it meant something very big to me.

my mother was a special bonding moment between my mom, my best friend and me. Cooking allows you to learn different techniques and recipes of food to try or just even teach to someone else.

My family loves cooking and we love cooking big meals just to invite other family members over just to make sure all is fed.

Cooking isn’t absent from my life. My mother is always up for trying new recipes and new dishes and I enjoy being able to experience tasting the different foods. My grandma is always cooking up like traditional dishes like gumbo, fried chicken, yams, cabbage, or some red beans and rice. When my grandma cooks best believe there will be some leftovers because she cooks for the whole block. Family reunions or even gatherings are when we all as a family come together with different foods and barbecue and have a good time. Food has to be good because it will get talked about whether it's cooked good or bad. Food gives you a topic to talk about and even a way to express your dislikes and likes about the taste of something.

I believe food has a story to tell because there are so many types of food in the world. Every culture has a certain type of food they cook the most depending on their tradition and culture. There is Mexican food, Chinese food, soul food, all types of different cultures of food that represent traditions of different races. I personally grew up around all three types of food and I enjoy eating all. I have my favorite Mexican restaurant Chinese restaurant and my family. My granny makes the best soul food. Soul food can be a little unhealthy to eat because it's really high in cholesterol and sodium but baby it is good. However, I love eating it. It's just a part of my culture, honestly my life.

Cooking certain food involves different tasks to get it cooked thoroughly or even the way you want the food cooked. My best friend and I were cooking fried chicken and me and her didn't have a clue what we were doing. I knew I needed to clean the chicken and dip it in flour but I didn't know using eggs to put the chicken in can make the chicken crunchier. I also was cooking with the fire so high that the chicken wasn't cooking all the way. So when it was time to eat the chicken it was raw. My mom in the end gave us a little cooking class or lesson about frying chicken and we eventually had a nice meal cooked that wasn't raw. Being able to be taught a cooking life lesson from

Cooking is a stress reliever and I actually began baking when I was 15. I was going through a depressed time in my life and cooking was my outlet. I continued to cook though and learned many different recipes and tasted different types of food. Even though I haven't baked in a while, I'm glad the process of cooking food helped me in a very hard time of my life.

Ms. Bibbs Famous Peach Cobbler

Ingredient Peaches, peeled, sliced

Amount 12

Nutmeg

1 tsp

Cinnamon

1 tsp

Crust

1

Butter

1 stick

All Spice

0.5 tsp

Vanilla Extract

0.5 tsp

Sugar White and Brown

1 cup

Instructions 1.

Open canned peaches and pour into pot

2.

Turn fire on high

3.

Add cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla extract, sugar, and brown sugar

4.

Take bottom crust roll out and sprinkle cinnamon nutmeg and both sugars 5. stick in oven for like 5-7 min not all the way cooked light tint

5.

Check peaches and add flour for thicker juice no flour if you like juice

6.

Ten to fifteen to boil peaches watch the pan

7.

Take out pan with crust

8.

Pour cooked peaches into pan with bottom crust

9.

Take second roll of crust and cut it into parallel straight lines

10. Put crust on top of pie or peaches 11. Sprinkle all season on top 12. Put back in the oven for 20- 30 minutes depending on how big the pan is.

13. Take out should be down watch crust cook

Bread or Toast

By Jackson Bolin

M

y artifact is a big wheat bag of bread. Bread is a commonality between the entire world, however, we have two meanings for the word bread. This is something that has been grown into the culture for many years.

In bread, food shows the symbolic act of money. Majority of the people in the country recognize that you can either be talking about a real loaf of bread or you can be talking about money.

This is currently getting generated to the country through the music industry.

The music industry is growing rapidly in the United States, specifically rap music. With rap music always being aired on the radio and being so accessible on modern technology, the terminology these artists use becomes easily recognizable. Rap songs often contain the word bread. When an artist says bread in their song it is almost always referring to money, and it is very easy to tell through the lyrics. Also during music videos these performers show extravagant amounts of money in cash referring to the bread they are rapping about. This sets a trend across the whole country to refer to money as bread, which then just spreads it to more and more people.

When a song is a hit it expands to other platforms, so naturally the songs that include the word bread as money

reaches many other places. Some of these platforms that content creators will make videos on using songs with are twitter, instagram and TikTok. TikTok is an app that people post videos on and often they create dancing, scenes, or sing with music. People often post videos just as artists would display money as bread. It's also common for videos to have text on them, this usually includes the emoji of bread. The emoji of bread so often by the younger generation gets displayed or communicated with as in the meaning of money through social media, music and everyday communication.

Bread is symbolic of money. This is shown through the social media we see, current music, videos and more. It has grown throughout the country and others as a known symbol for money. This shows the influence that pop culture has on our country and how it can create such a mainstream way of thinking just from being exposed to it.

Tasty Connection

F

ood to me is much more than just a necessity the human body needs to survive. It is a commonality shared among all people in the world which brings us together.

Throughout time and in every place on the earth, there has been food consumption by humans. Just as most things are regional, food looks incredibly different depending on the country or region you are in. America is known for being the melting pot of the world where people from all over come together to live in one country that is full of many different nationalities and cultures. With this, America has not only gained many different cultures from the people but also the food their culture enjoys as well. Food is incredibly important to our society because of the individual traditions and culture that make us unique in the boundless variety of foods we eat.

Tradition and food go hand in hand like the favorite family recipe passed down from generation to generation, or the special pot a grandparent used to make it in. This is unique for everyone because through our own lives we learn these traditions out of personal belief or shared moments with family and friends. One tradition that my father takes very seriously is eating cabbage and black-eyed peas on New Year's Day. My Mother and I do not enjoy this meal at all but we eat it once a year because my dad believes that this traditional meal will bring him a prosperous new year full of happiness and wealth.

My father is adamant in this tradition because of his family

struggles growing up and regardless of how bad the year may have been, this symbolic meal on the first day of the new year brings some peace and hope for my father. It may seem irrational to think a meal on a certain day of the year can bring you good luck, but if that meal allows someone to have fresh hope in a New Year, then that tradition is worth passing down.

There are many traditions involving food, like Thanksgiving, the holiday where we relive the great feast that brought together the Native Americans and Pilgrims. However, there are also many unnamed smaller traditions that occur in our daily lives, like eating chicken wings while watching your favorite football team, birthday meals for your special day, or food specific to your religion just to name a few.

America is the melting pot of people from all across the world but within our country, each state or region has a very distinct culinary flavor and traditions that go along with those foods.

For me, food plays a giant part in my culture, and feeling truly connected to my family. I was born and raised in Tucson, Arizona while all my family is from Louisiana. Growing up in Tucson you get raised on Mexican food from the Sonoran Region of Mexico, but my parents also showed me my cajun culture through the food they grew up eating in Louisiana. My father, who loves to cook, taught me about the food that comes from my Cajun culture of Southern Louisiana. Being from such a different culture he found a way to keep me connected to our family's traditions and bonds by always cooking the food he and my mom grew up on in Southern Louisiana. Jambalaya, gumbo, crawfish ĂŠtouffĂŠe, and many other Louisiana dishes are not common in my hometown so I loved getting friends to try

the food and connect them to my culture just like many of them connected me to theirs. My favorite memory of showing our family’s culture through food is when my father hosted a giant crawfish boil in our backyard in Arizona. He made everything feel as if we were on the bayou in a little town in Louisiana. This is my favorite memory because growing up I had a myriad of Hispanic friends and they would always tease me because I could not handle some of the Mexican spices or the habanero peppers, even though I truly love spicy foods. At the crawfish boil, I turned the tables on my spice loving friends and had them try my dads' crawfish and jambalaya. As their eyes began to water, my friends suddenly realized that spices are all different, and just because you become somewhat immune to what you are accustomed to, new spices can have a different effect. The Mexican spice that is so deadly to me was normalized to them as kids from it being so dominantly used in their cultural dishes just as I got used to the cajun spice growing up from my family using it in so many of our dishes. In our society, we have so many different cultures, and one of the main ways we learn and experience them is through food and the different way it presents itself from each person's background.

Food can also give many people a sense of comfort. It is not uncommon for someone to be having a bad and feel better after eating. Comfort food can be anything, from just ice cream to a complete dish. The reason people fall back on these comfort foods is the connection they have with them. For example, my comfort food is my mother's roast. I feel safe when I eat the roast because my mom makes it when my whole family is home and we sit down at the table together. Being so far away from my family, the taste of the roast always brings a

protected feeling to me just because of the setting I am so used to eating it at. For most people comfort food sparks a jolt of memory or feeling inside their body that makes them feel better while they are down. Family, friends, and specific memories can all be things that create this feeling with food.

Eating food is an activity that can bring friends, family, and loved ones together. This was shown through nationalities, traditions, and cultures already, but it's also brought together through the activity of eating itself. Dinner has always been an important thing for my family, when we eat at home we all sit at the dining table together and talk about our days. My whole family gave themselves assigned seats at the dining table because we grew so attached to where we sat for dinner.

Eating together at the dining table is always one of my favorite things to think about. Serious talks, hilarious moments, and great conversations have all happened while we are sitting together at the table eating dinner. Being the youngest of three, with a ten and five year age gap dinner showed me the progression of the family as well. Dinner was always the five of us and then my oldest sister departed for college and her seat stayed empty leaving us with four people while she was gone.

Next to leave was my sister that is five years older than me, leaving her seat empty while she was at college as well. It went from five people eating to three, and then I left leaving my parents there alone. Through the years I can see the progression of my family sitting at the dining table eating varieties of different types of food from both my mom and dad.

We still all go home at times and we sit down at the table in our assigned talking just like we did when we lived there. Dinner has been an activity that has brought my family together for many years and brought us a lot of joy.

Although food can be so different in so many ways, it certainly brings people together showing us the uniqueness of our traditions and allows us to share in each other's culture. I have learned numerous traditions over years involving food that hold a significant value of pride to the person or family that celebrates them. I look forward to the day I can begin passing down my family’s traditions by teaching my son or daughter how to get a jambalaya just right, just like my dad did for me and my grandfather did for him. For me, food is the best way to understand someone else's culture and bring different cultures together. Food also has been shown to bring comfort to people through memories and feelings the taste of something can bring back. Personally, I believe food also brought my family closer together through the act of eating together and showed me the change in my family over many years. Food is clearly a connecting agent that can bring many people together in various ways. Just as there are many different ways to prepare a gumbo, there are very many ways that food can bring people together.

Gumbo Recipe Ingredient

Amount

Vegetable Oil

4 Tbsp.

Chicken thighs

4

Chicken Breats

2

Diced Yellow Onions

2 Cups

Diced Green Bell Peppers

2 Cups

Diced Celery

2 Cups

Diced Green Onions

1 Cup

Minced Garlic

2 Tbsp.

Flat-Leaf Parsley

2 Tbsp.

Smoked Andouille or Pork Sausage

2 Cups

Chicken Stock

12 Cups

Cayenne Pepper

2 Tsp.

Acadiana Table Cajun Seasoning Blend

2 Tsp.

Dark Roux

1 Cup

Kosher Salt

1 Tbsp.

Ground Black Pepper

1 Tbsp.

Hot Sauce

1 Tbsp.

Louisiana Long-Grain rice

8 Cups

Instructions 1.

Large cast iron pot over medium-high heat, put oil in then chicken spices. Brown chicken then remove.

2.

Add onions, bell peppers, and celery to the pot. Add garlic and parsley, then add the sausage. One cup of stock and then add back the chicken.

3.

Add additional chicken stock to cover chicken and vegetable mixture. Add seasoning and stir. Add the roux and stir.

4.

Bring the pot to a boil and then reduce to a simmer, close the lid and cook for an hour.

5.

Remove chicken pieces and excess oil. Add more roux or stock depending on the thickness of your liking. Add salt and pepper.

6.

Simmer for additional 30 min

7.

Add the Gumbo to white rice and diced green onion tops.

8.

Enjoy

What a Soup Kitchen Symbolizes

By Elizabeth Chapa

T

he guest eats and finishes and rinses and leaves, most without a word. A lot of them get back in line for seconds.” Millions of people go hungry every day.

There aren’t always resources and guidance that are easily obtainable to these individuals in seek of help. One resource that is heavily relied on more than often, is Soup Kitchens. “At a Manhattan soup kitchen, Food on the table and chops on the Piano” by Michael Wilson tells a story about a church soup kitchen offered to the homeless of Manhattan, New York.

Almost a restaurant-style dining area with true live classical music played on a grand piano in the corner, volunteers such as Scott Corly, a grey-haired 41-year-old anonymous entertainer plays for hours on end for the soup kitchen because he was once homeless himself. One specific soup kitchen that has made a huge impact on the Manhattan community is “The Soup and Soul Kitchen.” They not only offer free hot meals but also uplifting music that touches each person who partakes. In Manhattan, Soup Kitchen food is being portrayed to represent the symbolic act of kindness. “The Soup and Soul” soup kitchen is not only a transparent act of giving but also leaves you with the satisfaction of giving back for a more vital cause in your community.

The author uses many different types of rhetorical devices including ethos, pathos, and outside context to grab the audience’s attention. Pathos is being used in the text by provoking a sympathetic emotional response to the helpless and homeless rate rising each day. The author Michael Wilson makes sure to incorporate the sad backstory of fellow success stories to allow for sympathy. “His name is Scott Corly. His most recent job was driving a truck, and that was a while ago…

Suffice it to say that when he first started visiting the soup kitchen, some 13 years ago, There’s are newcomers, like Brian Dempsy, 44 and boyish clean-cut…for the first time in his life he had no place to stay having recently lost his first apartment.”

After reading these snippets of a sad life story the audience is persuaded by the volunteer using emotional appeal to help feed the homeless during the holidays. This appeal to pathos affects the working class by feeling sympathy towards the homeless and decides to give back to charity. There is a deeper meaning beyond just giving other poor people food, but to unite the community as one through the soup kitchen.

Outside Context plays a big part in this piece, “A Manhattan soup kitchen, Food on the table and chops on the Piano” by Michael Wilson. The author's intended audience is geared

toward middle and high social classes in America. So basically, anyone with access to technology and the desire to educate oneself through literature. “I almost give a little more weight to people who come in as guests, I see more and more, a blurring of the lines between guests and host.” These high-class people are not worried about where their next meal is coming from, but volunteering allows for these polar opposites to connect through food shows unity in a community.

In the text, we see many forms of logical appeals inserted by Wilson in an attempt to give a glimmer of hope to the currently homeless. Michael Wilson constantly introduces new characters who were once homeless but eventually were able to get back on their feet and now in a stable living situation. “In 2013 he lived in a homeless shelter for a time, before moving into the vigilant hotel, a single room occupancy place for men, and eventually, to his friends’ home.” Revealing to the readers he was once homeless but has then become successful. “He was a little rusty, sure, as he was out of practice. But he got the job.

Since then, he has developed, in the most transient of audiences, a fan base.” Introducing almost a cause and effect in the text, to those seeking help could potentially use this text as motivation and the characters in the article as an inspiration not to be homeless anymore.

In the article “At a Manhattan soup kitchen, Food on the table and chops on the Piano” By the use of rhetorical devices of ethos, outside context, and logos, Michael Wilson, the author achieves his goal to unite the community by selfless acts of giving back through a Manhattan soup kitchen for the

homeless. The use of food in this text is a symbolic feature of hope and inspiration. The rhetorical strategies used by the author were effective in conveying a huge significance of a little soup kitchen.

What Does Food Mean to Me?

I

am Elizabeth Chapa, I was born a few miles shy of the border in the Rio Grande Valley, specifically McAllen, Texas.

Quickly after that my family and I uprooted to join my grandparents in the San Antonio Area. As soon as I could walk, I was introduced to a kitchen and all of the magical things that can be made there. Being a native Texan I was most interested in learning to cook all the Hispanic dishes my grandparents are known for like, Carne guisada, rice, and beans. In my household, I was never taught how to cook and if I did know how to cook something, I most likely taught myself. Although my parents never learned how to cook or make a proper meal (they probably still don’t) without getting takeout or using the microwave. Because they had kids being so young, they didn’t know much themselves. This left me with little hope for the future. Over time my parents split up and my Great Grandparents took me under their wing, and I can truly say they taught me everything I know about food. My great grandparents taught me that food has a special place in my heart that symbolizes love in the sense of a giving tradition.

I owe my success to my Great Grandpa, a U.S Air Force retired veteran, Daniel Herrmann. His dedication to his country and his family is what makes the amazing taste in his world-famous banana bread. Each person in our family all has a special experience making Banana Bread. Learning to make banana

bread is a life-changing experience, so much hard work and dedication go into this one single loaf of bread. When I learned to make Banana Bread in the Winter of 2016, I had just turned 15 and a freshman in high school (hence why I wanted to experience all the new things). I was staying with my grandparents over the Christmas break, one morning I woke up to the loudest sound of someone grinding nuts in a blender.

Immediately I had to see what was going on, come to find out my Grandpa is preparing to make twelve banana loaves of bread. No one in their right mind is just going to sit around and watch him do it alone, I had to help. Before the sun came up, we had completed making six of the twelve loaves of banana bread. My grandfather and my relationship and muscles grew stronger while making these loaves of bread. Creating handmade food symbolizes our family's love for one another, without food our most important connections could potentially be lost.

Why twelve banana bread you ask? Eleven of the twelve handmade banana loaves of bread are donated to the Southside community center and Grace Lutheran Church here in the heart of San Marcos, Texas. The southside community center is an opportunity for the homeless to get shelter and some good food. Grace Lutheran Church is where our family is current members for the past ten years or so. Banana loaves of bread are donated for the Sunday school services provided for adults and children after church. My Grandpa, Daniel Herrmann feels it is extremely important to give back to your community and the helpless. By donating these handmade banana loaves of bread to the homeless shelter and church symbolizes family love spread through food. Food allows us to give back to our

community by giving to someone who isn’t as fortunate as we are. Food symbolizes unity throughout our community showing that we are not divided by our social class or standing, and we can still come together as one. When we are not divided between our social class, we can have true connections based on our true selves.

Recently my grandparents lost their youngest child, my Grandma, to a sudden attack of the immune system causing sudden brain failure. During this hard time, our family from near and far flew to help with the children, will, etc. to support us and our loss. Families from across the country flew into Texas to spend time with my grandma after her passing, people from Grace Lutheran Church made homemade casseroles and baked goods and our fellow citizens at the Southside community homeless center offered their condolences. In this case, food was being used to show love from the two groups, Grace Lutheran Church and Southside community center, and our family.

Now let's get into what everyone wants to know, how do you make the infamous banana bread. First, we must start with the ripest bananas, preferably from this supermarket in Wimberly, Texas named Brookshire Brothers. The Brookshire Brothers supermarket sells the unwanted brown bananas in a bag for fifty percent off which is such a steal. Most people don’t want these because they would be rotten in a day or two, but they are the perfect banana to make the sweetest Banana bread.

The bananas act as a moisturizer in the recipe, the bananas help all the ingredients stick together to maintain their form.

Bananas can also act as an egg substitute because they are thick but better. After all, they are sweet. Next, you must get

your dry ingredients mixed in a large bowl. The flour, nuts, sugar, baking soda, salt, and a special way to spice things up, cinnamon. Not many people stray far from a strict recipe, although trying something new never hurt anybody. Next, you must gather a bowl of your wet ingredients such as your eggs, vanilla, and your banana mixture all together. At this point you should be sweating and if you’re not then you are not working hard enough. You may want to give up and start using a whisking machine, but I am against the machine because it doesn’t allow for “enough hard work” as my great-grandpa Daniel Herrmann would say. I would say the reason we get along so well is that our point of view is similar to one another, except I am clearly up to date. You depend on how much effort is put into you whisking all the ingredients together. Without making a loaf of true homemade banana bread the final product would not allow us to feel so accomplished when we are done.

Each person in our family will learn this recipe including all my four siblings and a newborn baby brother. I am excited to say our family banana bread recipe has been passed down through three successive generations and many more to come.

My Grandma learned how to make it from her dad Daniel Herrmann, then she taught her daughter, my mother, and now myself. One day my brothers, sister, and I will be able to teach our children how to make this special banana bread. We get to share the deeper meaning behind what this loaf of bread represents. Being able to have enough money and food to provide for those around us. Hopefully, they use this loaf of bread to help the less fortunate and homeless in need of good Texas soul food.

I was never immediately a banana bread genius; everyone develops that skill at their own pace. My Grandpa, Daniel Herrmann has inspired everyone around him by teaching this famous banana bread recipe. What some simple bananas, sugar, and flour can do to a community. Mr. Herrmann has shown us the deeper connection behind what food allows each person to achieve. Connecting all parts of the community as one family.

Recipe Ingredient

Amount

All Purpose Flour

2 Cups

Over Ripe Brown Bananas

3 Cups

Unsalted Butter

3/4 Cup

Baking Soda

1 Tsp.

Beaten Eggs

2

Salt

1/4 Tsp.

Brown Sugar

1 Cup

Nuts

1 Cup

Vanilla Extract

1 Tsp.

Cinnamon

1 Tsp.

Instructions 1.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2.

In a large mixing bowl add the 3 overripe bananas, ž cup of melted butter, 2 beaten eggs, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

3.

In a separate bowl add the 2 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon on baking soda, 1 cup of brown sugar, Âź teaspoon of salt, 1 cup of nuts, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon

4.

Grab a third bowl an mis the dry and wet ingredients together.

5.

Once whisked thoroughly pour in a buttered loaf pan and cook for one hour. Enjoy!

Food’s Message to Us

By Nicole Coyne

W

hen thinking about all the symbolic meanings that food can hold and represent in any given circumstance, I took into consideration various examples that would represent what I wanted to deconstruct and reveal more about what food can hold. For my artifact, I decided to go with a specific scene from the movie, "The Hunger Games”. The scene that I choose was the one where we see Katniss struggling outside in the pouring rain, malnourished and starving. After seeing this, Peeta then notices her outside while he is feeding the animals bread and wants to reach out to her and passes along some bread to her as well.

In, “The Hunger Games”, food is being used to show the symbolic act of life and represents comfort as well as a feeling of being at home. The bread that was being given to her wasn’t just any normal bread, he offered it to her for a specific reason to show that he cares about her well-being and wants to let her know that he is here for her, showing her this through the pieces of bread he gave to her. Peeta also had the option of just not showing any interest in her at all and could've just left her there with no food. It is also as if the bread is being represented as a peace offering when it comes to helping her out, when he knows he could risk getting in trouble for doing so.

With this being said, Peeta is showing the element of true sacrifice and hospitality in this whole exchange. In the movie, this all happened before they really got to know each other therefore they were complete strangers in a way. He shows sacrifice by giving up the freshly made bread that in their city of Panem, is considered to be good and is a very high quality piece of bread that Katniss is not used to getting. By giving this offering he knows deep down he shouldn’t interact with her because they are considered to be from different backgrounds and if he were to get caught by his father by giving away the bread from the bakery to someone who is from a lower class like her, things would not end well.

Hospitality plays a role in Peeta as well as sacrifice because of the fact that they both go hand in hand when he shows his true colors in lending a helping hand to Katniss. Peeta is preventing putting Katniss’s life in jeopardy by giving her something to eat and just being there for her in general. Nothing says comfort like receiving food from a kind person, and in this case is what was happening.

As said in, “Theory of hospitality” from the cookbook, “Food can be an act of hospitality rhetoric. Serving others is an act of care, discipline, or a way to convince others of something you

want them to believe about you”. This statement really emphasizes and connects with my artifact and ties in with Peeta as he interacts with the food in this example being the bread.

positive meaning and outcome. But not everybody’s intentions are pure and reliable. As there are positives there are also negatives, and in this case of symbolism in food people have different aspects and mindsets.

When thinking about food in our lives, there are many people who do not realize that there actually is a meaning behind every action that happens to deal with food itself. Whether it be something as small and simple as a loved one cooking for their family, a neighbor bringing over baked goods, or just even donating food to the homeless, there is always a special message that correlates to why they did what they did in the first place.

Food in general is just so powerful just by being the reason we are able to live and survive in the first place. Without adding a meaning behind it, there simply is no purpose in letting others knowing your intentions or reasoning at all. I believe in today’s society when people think of food, they imagine it to be comforting and something to look forward to. There truly is no such thing as just cooking, eating, or giving food away for no such reason at all. There is just something about the connections that people make with food that makes it so powerful and strong in the first place.

If we were talking about a grandmother making her grandchild their favorite meal, we can infer and believe that she would do this to make her grandchild happy and to show her love and affection through her art of cooking. As for someone who decided to donate some food to the homeless, the message that they can portray is that they want to give back and help the less fortunate by giving them food. This exact example would be a modern-day example of what was happening in the scene with Katniss and Peeta.

According to sources from the encyclopedia, “Food is particularly powerful as a symbol because it is so deeply embedded in everyday as well as celebratory life and can therefore be read in many ways”. Not all the times does food always have to have a positive meaning behind it. When thinking about the true meaning and trying to see and detect the reasoning within it, it usually tends to be dealing with a

It always seems as though no matter what the circumstance may be, food always can be seen as playing a role in the lives of everyone whether we think about it or not. It’s one of the biggest mood changers, as well as stomach filling symbols, that us as humans love to use on a daily basis. By creating such special messages we get an idea and perspective of what is occurring, and we experience emotions of what we believe and see is coming from what the food is portraying to us.

I can guarantee that there are people who just watched the movie and had no understanding about the true meaning as to why Peeta did what he did in the first place to begin with.

While deconstructing this entire scene, it appeared clearly that he wanted to showcase himself to Katniss that he is caring and offered the bread to her to show that he is an ally and wants to

help her out, unlike him just giving her bread just to give it to her with no reason in the first place. This created a relationship and bond between them by knowing that she was struggling and him lending a helping hand in giving her the piece of bread.

Therefore, when looking back to my artifact I wanted to create a sense of understanding and importance, and just overall wanted to show how food portrays this huge role of emotions and meanings that we normally don’t realize about on a daily basis. By choosing that specific scene it led me to do some digging and research into looking more in depth as to why Peeta did what he did in the first place.

Foodie Fan Club

F

ood. The thing that us as humans love and crave 24/7. It provides nourishment for us to survive as well as helping us become happier and satisfied. I can guarantee you that there is not a single person out there that doesn’t enjoy a specific type of food that they love to crave and enjoy.As far as I know, every human being, or even living organism at this point, is a part of the foodie fan club.

Ever since I was brought into this world, food in my family has played a huge role in creating bonds and strengthening our relationships as a family.Luckily for me, both sides of my family highly enjoy cooking, therefore blessing me with different options and tasty dishes that I get to enjoy all the time it seems like. There has honestly never been a time where someone in my family makes something that is not enjoyable, it’s extremely rare!I was influenced at a young age by not only my mother and grandmothers, but my father specifically to start getting in to cooking and making food for others. I don’t want to brag or anything, but I feel as though my father is one of the best cooks out there, so good that he probably could run a restaurant. My father’s mother, my grandmother, died when he was younger and she loved cooking so much that she went to school to pursue it, inspiring my father to continue her love for it. By passing this down to me, it really makes me feel as though I am

connected to my grandmother even though Ive never met her, through the art of cooking and love for good food.

Since I come from two different backgrounds, one being Mexican and the other being Irish and Czech, I would say it is never a dull moment when it comes to food in our household!

The thing that amazes me so much is the fact that when it comes to deciding what we want to eat at our house, there are many different options, and we can switch things up by not repeating the same meals we have had.

From making meals to desserts, my family is definitely one that loves to cook and is known by friends and other family members of just how great and talented we are when it comes to working in the kitchen. Going back to my personal chef, aka my father, every year on my birthday he allows me to send in a personal request of what dish that I would like to enjoy eating for my birthday dinner, and I personally love this and will take this over any plain and ordinary night out at a restaurant.

One specific memory that I love and will remember forever is one where me and my father made dinner together one time on Christmas day. It was when I was younger and couldn’t really handle the stove by myself just yet. I vividly remember begging and pleading my father to let me help prepare the food that he was going to be making. Without hesitation, of course my father the chef needed his assistant, aka myself, to help step in and make the meal just a tad bit delicious than it would've been already. We worked as a team to perfect each and every little dish as well as the main course that we were having that night. I remember all the giggles and fun it was and the joy and

excitement that filled the kitchen that exact evening. There is just absolutely nothing that can break the daddy daughter bond that I am proud and lucky to have with my own father. I am spoiled so much with amazing food that I’m literally never starving in this household. I feel as though when I move out,I’m always going to find a reason to come back home just to have those home cooked meals.

Now when it comes to me working in the kitchen, I would say I'm pretty decent, not as good as my father maybe, but I know how to whip up a good dish once in a while.Since I said I come from two different backgrounds, I know how to make a variety of different dishes from different cultures as well as our typical American dishes of course.From making tamales to making stuffed cabbage both sides of my culture help influence what I know to be satisfying.

I think in my opinion, the best part of cooking and trying new things is seeing what the outcome and final taste test will be like in the end. I also love hearing and getting praised that I made something that people enjoy and love to eat as well.

There is just something special about getting recognition about something that you typically wouldn't get praised about on a typical day.

Another memory that I hold is when I wanted to do something special for my parents since they spoil and do so much for me, is make them a nice big breakfast. I wanted to surprise them with all of their favorite breakfast foods that I know they would enjoy ,and I just had to perfect everything just to see their reactions. It took some work as well as time, but seeing their

faces light up with shock and happiness really made me feel good inside, making me realize that they probably feel this way when they cook for the rest of my family all the time.

Being a cook is not easy, it takes a lot of work than we typically think about, and also technically anyone can cook, but being a good cook is the key to good food. One thing Ive always admired about the way my father cooks is he is always trying to make sure that the people who eat his food are satisfied and happy with the way everything tastes and had come out in the end. He is totally the opposite of being selfish, he cares so much about others that he will spend hours standing working in the kitchen, letting everyone else start eating before he finally sits down and eats himself.

I would call this man a perfectionist just like myself. We are definitely father and daughter. He could be cooking something new that he has never made before from a recipe online, If there’s something that he didn’t enjoy about he likes to add his own flavor and twist to it to make it even better than it was before. Always leaving us full and satisfied with what he makes.

It’s crazy to me that there are people and families out there who either don’t like to cook, or just don’t cook in general to me. I couldn’t imagine being in a family that doesn’t cook all the time, it would definitely be foreign and different. That’s why I feel so blessed to be given and born into this family where food is highly used and important.

With that being said, I feel as though the perfect recipe to use for this cookbook project would have to be from my favorite cook, my father. He is truly one of my biggest inspirations as well as my grandmother and I am just so glad we are able to bond over food and cooking together in general.

I want to put something out there that reminds me of my father that nobody else, not even and restaurants can compete with the amount of flavor that he puts in and adds to make the perfect meal. We love doing what’s best and what makes others happy, it's as if it’s just in our Coyne blood that cooking is a way we can create happiness and spread love to others as well as in ourselves.

Kickin’ Fettucine Alfredo Recipe serves 4

Ingredient

Amount

Fettucine pasta

2 boxes

Chicken Breast

2

All-purpose Flour

1/2 cup

unsalted butter

1 stick

Heavy Whipping Cream

2 cups Desired amount

Parmesan Cheese Olive oil garlic powder

1 tbsp 1/2 tsp

salt and pepper

1 pinch

garlic cloves

3

paprika

1 pinch

Instructions: 1. First we are going to start with cooking our chicken breast.

When prepping chicken breast, you can take some paprika and salt and pepper seasoning as well as some garlic powder, and put some on the breast itself, then take your flour and coat the entire thing.

2. To cook the chicken breast, you can pan-fry it in olive oil with some butter for about 5 minutes on each side or when the chicken appears to be cooked all the way through.

3. Prepare two boxes of fettucine noodles to al dente.

4. While those are cooking, you can reuse the same pan that the chicken breast was cooked in and start the sauce by melting the remaining stick of butter over medium heat, add three cloves of minced garlic, cook for 2 minutes until it becomes fragrant. Careful not to burn garlic!

5. Whisk in 2 cups of heavy whipping cream, chicken broth and cook for 7-8 minutes until it thickens.

6. Whisk in 1 ½ cups of freshgrated parmesan cheese and a ½ teaspoon of pepper.

7. Cook for 2 minutes more and turn off the heat.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, ligula suspendisse nulla pretium.

8. Then your sauce should be complete, drain your pasta and add your chicken breast while drizzling the amount of alfredo sauce that you desire onto your dish.

9. Add parsley for more flavor and enjoy!

Recuerdeme

By Cindy De Blas Castillo

F

ood is one of the essential requirements for the survival of humans. Because of its importance through the years it has also gained a deeper meaning and significance in the lives of everyone. Food can be a method of unity, it carries historical meaning, enhances the community, and provides knowledge of other cultures. The film Coco includes a scene where Miguel’s grandmother explains to Miguel why they set up the ofrenda for their ancestors. She begins explaining that it is necessary for them to set up pictures of their loved ones because that is the only way that their spirits can come to the land of the living. Then she explains that they decorate said ofrenda with all of their family members favorite things so that their loved ones are received with all that they loved in life so that the family could be united together this one day of the year. In Coco, food is being used to show the symbolic act of pathos through the significance of food in the Mexican culture and its holidays.

The first instance in which we see the importance of food is during El Día de Muertos celebration where people come to celebrate their ancestors through the things they love, including food. In Coco we see how several tomb stones are decorated with Cempasuchil petals, and many delicious dishes.

The visiting souls of the departed then take these foods with

them to the afterlife. (00:23:00) In this case we see how food is a method of unity between those who are living and those who have now passed, these are firm believers that their past family member will come and spend one day with the family. It is a way to give, celebrate and remember those who have passed.

People do what their relatives most liked to be able to feel like they are with them once again by living what they loved when they were living. They relive all that their family members loved and celebrate them as a way to make them feel a bit closer. It is the one day we can bring back our loved ones to an extent and feel them a bit closer than usual.

Nearing the end of the film we see another instance of the importance of Día de Los Muertos. In this second instance we have a scene of Coco where it is the next year’s Día de Los Muertos, and the family is being brought together once more.

However, now the living family is living with the physical absence of mama Coco. Still, they believe that their family will be brought together again by guiding the spirits onto Miguel’s home through the path of Cempasuchil and having a big family gathering through a family dinner (1:35:00) This is another example of why the food at El Día de Los Muertos is very important as it is believed to not only bring the spirits of our past members together but also bring our living family

together. Because families are not always as interconnected as shown in the film. Even in Mexican families we all have different levels of unity between families, we could be very, moderately, or lack unity. Therefore, holidays like these could be the one of the only instances where families come together which gives them even more value within families. It is a day of the year where families come together from all over the state or country after possibly months of not seeing one another. It proves the value of family to the Mexican culture.

In another scene of the film, we have a line of people, who have passed, and are carrying the food that their living families left for them in their ofrendas. Everyone carrying a variety of things, one carrying a small package which I assume contains food that was given to him by who offered him that food, and a woman who is carrying piles of food. (00:26:04) This all brings perspective to the other side of El Día de Los Muertos that we do not physically see, the meaning the ofrendas is what is being highlighted here. In this we see the that these ofrendas are a way for our past family members to bring us and remember us when they return to rest to the land of the dead.

Sort of like a token of memory and a reminder that though these family members have passed we still remember them and love them more than we did when they were living. All of this shows how food is such an important factor to the Mexican culture. In El Día de Los Muertos it is a way to bring the living and passed family members together and remember those who are no longer with us.

Some of the most important food pieces during El Día de Los Muertos include, Pan de Muertos and Calaveras de Dulce.

These pieces have great significance in mexican culture. El Pan de Muertos is something that is always included in some part of the ofrenda. Dinah Agur describes el pan de muerto as a spanish tradition where “Spaniards used to take bread and wine to the cementaries or churches on All Souls Day as an offering for their dead family members to let them know they remembered them and to ask them for their protection.” While not everyone uses the same wine and bread for protection, we still use the bread as a way to remember our past family members and offer them bread as a way to show how much we miss, remember, and love them. The same goes for las Calaveras de Dulce, these are also ways of remembering those who have passed. These calaveras are decorated and include the name of the people who have passed, and according to their origin were used to make sure that the souls of those soldiers who would die in war would have a successful transition. This is another proof of how Mexican food is influenced by its culture, while the original skull was not made of candy rather real skulls, Catholicism demanded a change as they found it to be to close in relation to the devil, and the result was the less ominous sugar skull. These are some of the values that sweets have become to one of Mexico’s most famous holidays. They bring value and meaning of the death of those loved one who have passed.

In Mexican culture, food has always been known to be an important factor of its culture. We have plentiful dishes to keep the family eating for days even when they do not want any more with great variety and flavors and tastes. Mexican food is centered on unity of family of community, it helps bring family

together for special occasions and to celebrate birthdays, DĂ­a de Los Muertos, weddings, and all other family related events.

Mexican culture values the meaning of family and through that interaction between family is that these dishes come to be. The interaction is what allows for improvisation and alterations in dishes and the passing of recipes onto the younger generations, and the sprout of new recipes in the family. It is the chance for every member of the family to show off their culinary skills through their specialties. It is through Mexican delicacies that people come together to communicate and relate to others, it is a way to bring people together in a common purpose of enjoying Mexican food and its rich culture.

Que Dulce la Vida

L

a comida es una parte esencial para cada persona. Para mi familia es una manera de reunirnos a todos. Para días festivos hacemos platillos específicos para esa ocasión.

Para Navidad hacemos buñuelos, ponche y chocolate. Para cumpleaños hacemos mole y arroz o posole. Para días en donde juegan las chivas nos reunimos y hacemos carne asada y botanas. Cada ocasión tiene su platillo diseñado para ser disfrutado ese día y por esa razón es que la comida es una parte esencial en mi vida.

De chiquita yo sonaba con ser chef, le hacia platillos a mis tíos y cocteles de fruta a mis tías para cuando venían a visitarnos a mí y a mis papas a nuestro dúplex. Usaba uvas, naranjas, sandia y todo tipo de frutas para hacer los cocteles. Siempre comenzaba a preparar todo horas antes de que llegaran siempre me entretenía en eso y ya a la hora en que llegaran mis tíos yo siempre los recibía con la fruta y después me iba a jugar. Con el tiempo deje de hacer mis cocteles, pero me fascino la idea de hacer pasteles, en particular me gusto mucho hacer mis pasteles sabor de fresa. Para ano nuevo en el 2019 hice un pastel de fresa y lo llene de fresas y crema dulce y me encanto. Este ano llegue a aprender a cocinar un choco flan. Este postre en particular siempre pensé que era extremadamente difícil cocinar por tener dos niveles. Pero llegue a cocinar un choco flan con quien era mi novio al

momento y pues, aunque haya sido una de mis ultimas citas con él, algo aprendí. Aprendí a nunca cocinar con caramelo artificial. Ahora recientemente llegue a fascinarme con el café.

Se que no es una comida, pero si es una bebida que yo creo es difícil preparar porque todos tienen sus gustos. Hay tantos sabores de café que hay por probar apenas voy empezando.

Pero fue por medio del café que he llegado a endulzarme la vida. Fue por medio de un café que llegue a salir con amigas nuevamente, fue por un café que llegue a salir con un amigo nuevamente, fue por un café que llegue a salir a una cita. La comida, en especifico la comida dulce, es la que me a ayudado a vivir mi vida. La comida me a ayudado a conocer mis gustos en la cocina, a vivir mis gustos, a conocer a personas, y me a permitido enamorarme una y otra vez.

Por medio de la cocina es que e llegado a herirme también. La herida más reciente que e recibido fue por medio de unas donas que prepare. A mi me fascinan las donas y todo lo dulce, fue por que busque como cocinar esas donas. Pero uno de mis mayores miedos es el aceite, no simplemente cualquier aceite no a mi me da miedo el tener que freír las cosas en aceite. Es tan riesgoso y peligroso, simplemente me aterra tener que cocinar en aceite, pero aun lo hago porque no voy a pasar hambre solo por un poco de aceite. Así que me puse a cocinar las donas, las prepare, les prepare su dulce y ya estaba todo listo. Ya llevaba yo varias donitas ya hechas cuando de repente que explota una de las donitas y todo el aceite me callo en mi cara. No supe que hacer, me ardía, pero sabía que no debía tocarme la herida y es que también o tengo idea de como reaccionar en eventos inesperados así que termine de hacer

las donas y deje de cocinar. No volví a cocinar con aceite por unos días, pero es que el aceite es parte esencial de la cocina así que era inevitable tener que volver a cocinar con aceite. Esa fue una de mis experiencias mas dolorosas en la cocinar. Esta experiencia me enseno que, aunque yo crea que tenga todo bajo control lo mas inesperado puede suceder, me enseno a esperar los inesperado hasta de objectos inanimados.

Otra cosa que me hace valorar a la comida es que es una excusa para juntarme con mis amigas y amigos. La primera vez que volví a salir con mis amigas fue por medio de un café, dijimos que iríamos a un café para estudiar cuando realmente fuimos solo para platicar. Aunque no hayamos sido tan productivas llegamos a convivir y pasarla bien sanamente. Eso lo hicimos varias veces también para desestresarnos de la escuela y poder respirar aire que no fuera del de nuestra casa.

Ya después un día si salimos a pasear en serio, ella nos recomendó ir a un restaurante coreano en Rundberg, aunque hayamos gastado tanto dinero aun así nos la pasamos bien, riéndonos, y llenándonos de comida deliciosa que nunca había probado. Me gusto tanto esa comida que regrese con mi mejor amigo a probar la comida de allí. Igual salimos y le insistí a que fuéramos al restaurante, aunque yo ya había gastado suficiente dinero. Comimos muchísimo, yo ordene un sea food pancake y el ordeno alitas fue un día lleno de risas y comida por todas partes. Y una ultima memoria con la comida que nunca llegare a olvidar fue recientemente cuando llegue a un café en Manor, TX con un muchacho que apenas estoy conociendo. Fue la primera vez que tenia una cita desde mi última relación y

verdaderamente fue un éxito. Me la pase tan bien con el muchacho en este café, platicamos por horas hablando del todo un poco y fue por ese simple café que llegue a empezar a enamorarme otra vez. Es por medio de la comida que e llegado a tener muchísimas bellas experiencias y la verdad la comida ahora tiene mas significado que solo para ser consumida para saciar el hambre, también ahora es para convivir con la gente que amo y pasarla bien sanamente.

Ahora hablare sobre una ocasión en la que alguien cocino para mí. En particular, hablare sobre mis papas. De vez en cuando, cuando los mercados no tienen la carne tan cara, compramos varias libras para cocinar en casa. Y siempre es mi papa quien la cocina en su asador, y cuando la cocina el siempre se la pasa cuidando la comida para que le quede perfecta para nosotros.

Dependiendo de qué tipo de carne compramos para ese día puede tomar un buen en estar listo. En esas instancias en las que la comida lleva mas en prepararse son los momentos en los que mi papa y yo tenemos platicas de todo. Mi papa es muy platicador así que yo se que el siempre tiene algo que decirme así siempre que esperamos a que esta lista la comida yo lo acompaña y allí es donde mi papa me platica de lo que el quiera. Me puede reganar por algo, o darme metáforas que solo nosotros entendemos, o solo contarme de sus problemas y yo siempre lo escucho. Es uno de los momentos que pasamos entre papa e hija y yo verdaderamente los valoro mucho. Otra ocasión en la que paso tiempo con mis papas es cuando paso tiempo en la cocina con mi mama. Porque aún no se bien como cocinar, usualmente termino reganada por mi mama, y no me ofendo, pero si me fastidio un

poco yo misma porque pues yo estoy intentando y por no saber bien no me sale bien la comida. Pero, aunque la comida sea lo que menos me salga bien, aun así, obtengo el tiempo en familia con mi mama donde ella me ensena de lo que ella sabe, la verdad es que esto es algo complicado y la paciencia que mi mama tiene conmigo es fascinante. Siempre termino olvidándome de las cosas que no practico frecuentemente así que ya se darán idea de cuantas veces mi mama tiene que explicarme las cosas. Verdaderamente sé que solamente ella podría tener ese tipo de paciencia conmigo y aun así no enojarse conmigo. Fue por estas experiencias que e aprendido a valorar no solo la comida sino los momentos que paso con mis papas, que aun cuando uno está cocinando uno no solo puede estar aprendiendo las recetas sino también uno pueda estar aprendiendo de uno mismo, de los demás, y de los valores de la vida al cocinar junto a mis papas.

Por medio de la comida es la que también e podido introducirme a nuevas culturas no solamente para conocer mi cultura. Gracias a mis amigos e llegado a probar comida coreana y comida china y hasta e ido a restaurantes a donde yo creía que nunca llegaría a ir. Como había dicho al principio del ensayo, gracias a mi amiga llegue a probar comida coreana y probar ese sea food pancake. Nunca en mi vida pensé que yo llegaría a probar algo tan diferente a la comida a la que me acostumbre y le doy gracias a mi amiga por introducirme a ello. Igual llegue a salir a una cita donde un muchacho me presento a una comida que se le llama bao. Es como un dumpling pero mas grande con la harina de afuera mucho mas suave y con muchos tipos de rellenos. Las diferentes comidas

que e probado hasta hoy son lo que me han abierto los sentidos a las diferentes posibilidades de comida que existen en este mundo. Aun hay mucho por aprender del mundo y yo aquí estoy para probarlo todo, excepto la comida super picosa.

En conclusión, para mí la comida no es solamente comida es una forma de unir mi familia y toda la gente que me importa. E llegado a valorar los momentos que paso con la gente al cocinar y al comer la comida. Me encanta convivir con mi familia a la hora de la cena y platicar con todos y reír. La comida es la llave para endulzar la vida.

Ponche NavideĂąo Recipe serves 4

Ingredient Cinnamon Sticks

Amount 2-3

Panela (Unrefined sugar molded into cone)

1

Tamarindo (peeled)

1/4 pound

Guayabas, tails cut

10

Oranges, peeled and cut into fourths

3

Sugar Cane

1 bag

apples, cut into fourths and removed core/seeds Sugar Cane water

3-4 to taste 10 quarts

Instructions: 1. Place water, Panela, and cinnamon sticks to boil until water turns to a red, brown shade ~15 minutes 2. Add tamarindo. Let boil for ~5-7 minutes 3. Add the rest of the ingredients and add sugar to your personal liking. Close and let boil for ~15 minutes 4. Once it has boiled for ~15 minutes turn off stove and enjoy!

WALL-E

By Jack DesJardins

T

he artifact that I chose to talk about is Andrew Stratton’s depiction of the future and how the world, if today's society's view on food and how much is consumed doesn't change how the world is going to end up. The movie at the very beginning shows the world in shambles, covered in dust and piles of trash unlivable by any life with just a single robot cleaning the mess that was left. The movie is Wall-E and Wall-E is a robot that has been abandoned on earth by the same people who left earth because it was destroyed by pollution and trash by them. The robot cleans the world for years until he gets brought up onto the human’s spaceship and sees the people who destroyed the world with their pollution and abandonment of the world. The people are shown as obese and unable to walk who are surrounded by fast food and have access to it at all times. How Andrew Stratton’s shows how the people look like he thinks people will end up if nothing changes in today's society. The people of the future are described by Andrew Stratton’s as obese and unable to walk and surrounded by fast food and not doing anything just sitting in their chairs.

The movie shows how the people of the future have gotten so fat that they are unable to walk because they have eaten themselves to that weight. Their lives revolve around

food and everything that has food related. Andrew Stratton does a great job in showing how the negative aspects of today's American society has created the situation in the movie.

Those negative aspects American society include our view on food and how much we consume, the pollution we create and the trash that can’t decompose. In the movie Wall-E, Andrew Stratton’s wanted to show the problems of the growing acceptances of unhealthy fast food and it being so accessible and how problematic the average American diet is to the world and the people who live on it.

Andrew Stratton’s portrayal of the people of the future eating habits is very similar to the eating habits of many Americans. In America the consumption of unhealthy fast has drastically increased and continues to do so. With this increase in consumption so has the increase in obesity. Andrew Stratton shows in Wall-E what the people have turned into. In the scene where Wall-E is driving around the spaceship and seeing how the people live in their chairs unable to get up because of what they eat and their lifestyle is what Andrew Stratton’s is foreshadowing is how Americans' diets are leading them down the same path. In America today 42.4% of the population is obese, that means that in the United States that over 70 million people have a BMI (body mass index) over 30. With a BMI

above 30 the chance of a heart related death is astronomically increased. The problem of obesity in America is caused by many things. One of those being the accessibility of fast food and cheap unhealthy alternatives. In the movie the people have no choice of what food they have to eat and are forced to eat what they have. This is also true of people who live and poverty who don’t have the time or the money to eat healthy. Another reason people in America are obese is the mentality of Americans that our serving sizes need to be bigger than what is recommended.

Another factor that Andrew Stratton warns us about in the WallE movie is the mentality of Americans when it comes to food and how much we consume. In America as a whole consumes the most processed food in the world. According to insider.com Americans on average eat 1000 calories more per day then the average Japanese person. This mentality is what Andrew Stratton is trying to show us because along with the increase in consumption of fast food in America so has the size and the calories in each of the meals. The similarities between the people of the future is very similar to the people of the United States.

Another problem that Andrew Stratton implies is the accessibility of fast food on the spaceship is similarity to the accessibility of fast food in America. On the spaceship the people of the future have all the food delivered directly to them. In today's society many people are doing the same thing using applications on their phone to get someone to bring unhealthy fast food to your door without even leaving your

house. The use of the apps that deliver fast food show Andrew Stratton’s prediction is coming truer. Another thing in America that shows Andrew Stratton’s prediction is the accessibility of fast food in America, there are over 200,000 places that serve fast food in the United States and it is more accessible than most healthy places. This problem is amplified by the acceptability of fast food. The popularity of fast food has been steadily increasing over the last few years and doesn’t look like it will be slowing down anytime soon.

Andrew Stratton also used food to show how the abuse and unhealthy eating affects society as a whole. The people in WallE are extremely lazy but they didn’t start out like that. In the movie when they left earth, they were skinny and the spaceship they were on had a gym and places to play sports but with their diet being only unhealthy fast food they all became too lazy to use them. This is what Andrew Stratton is trying to warn us is what is happening to today's society. In recent years there has been a decrease in the importance of going outside and moving in regards to kids. Andrew Stratton shows us how we as a society are starting to follow the same path that the people on the space ship did.

Andrew Stratton used the story of Wall-E to show how our societal tendencies of the food we eat and how much of it we eat, the pollution that goes into creating the stuff we make, and the all of the trash we make are going to inevitably destroy the world and ourselves. In the movie Wall-E Andrew Stratton uses unhealthy food to show us how similar our eating habits are to the people in the movie. Andrew Stratton uses food to show us

What Food Means to Me and My Community

W

hat food means to me and my community is a very difficult question to answer because it means a lot of very different things to me and it means a lot of different things to the people of my community. What food means to me is spending time with family and friends and the people I care about. It also is the cause of many of my best memories with my family and friends but most importantly it is a sense of connection to my cultural identity. For me food also represents a sense of enjoyment because I enjoy cooking.

What it means to my community is a way of connecting with the people in the community.

Food to me also represents family time. In my family everyone is very busy both of my parents work full time jobs and me and my two brothers have school, our after school activities and jobs that we had to do so from 6 in the morning until late at night nobody is home and we were responsible for our own food during the week but on one day during the weeked my dad would always spend all day making a really good meal from smoked pork butt to really nice steaks and we would all eat one meal together and talk about the week and what we did and how things were going. The one meal a week was just

about the only everyone was at the house. Another time my dad would spend all day making food for the whole family was when I came home from college. One of my favorite things about going home from college is the food my dad makes and the time I can spend with my family. As of right now I live in a dorm without a kitchen or even a sink in my room so I am unable to make anything that is not microwavable while I am up at Texas State so I am stuck eating the same old food from Jones or commins which is the same every day. So when I go home the food my dad makes is that much better because it is not the same stuff that I have been eating for the past few weeks.This year food meant a lot more to me because of Covid-19. Before Covid-19 my extended family on my moms side would always celebrate any big occasion with a large meal with everyone invited and it would be a big party with lots of food but my uncle has a lung condition that puts his life in grave danger if he were to contract Covid-19. Because of his lung condition my family hasn't been gathering to try to keep him safe so I haven't seen my cousins since before Covid-19.

Before Covid-19 my Uncle, who was the lung condition, would have everyone over to his house for Thanksgiving but because of Covid I thought we would not be able to do it this year but he decided to take the risk to have the whole family be able to see each other again and be able to reconnect.

Food represents something completely different on my dad's side to me because it represents my culture. My dad's family immigrated from France to America and Canada about 200 years ago so I know almost nothing about French culture and her traditions. My only connection to where my dad's family comes and where my heritage comes from is the food that my

dad makes from there. My dad really enjoys cooking and he really enjoys cooking meals that we would be eating if we lived in France. My favorite meal that he cooks is his Coq au vin which is chicken cooked in wine with mushrooms with bacon. I remember the first time I saw what the meal looked like, it looked nothing like anything I had ever seen. It was three chicken legs in a bowl with like stew in the bottom of the bowl.

It was so strange looking that I didn't even want to try it but I remember the first bite I took the meat fell apart and it was the best chicken I had ever tasted. I know the food the French food my dad makes probably tastes nothing like an actual authentic French meal would taste but for me It doesn't matter that it doesn't taste like authentic french food but it makes me feel connected to at the least a knock off version of french culture.

Food is also a sense of enjoyment for me because I love to cook food because I love to eat food. I think my love of cooking comes from my dad because he is the one who taught me everything there is to know about cooking. When my dad was first teaching me and my older brother how to cook we started by making breakfast for our mother where he taught us how to cook scrambled eggs but he let us pick out the pots and pans and all the utensils and by the time we had finished making the eggs the sink was full off the stuff we used to make eggs. After we finished eating we were told we had to clean all the stuff and it took me and my brother over an hour. But after we finished cleaning all the stuff we had used to make the eggs my dad made another egg using way less pans and way less utensils and didn’t make a mess. He told us he made us choose all of our utensils because he knew that we would get a lot of

unnecessary stuff dirty and he wanted to teach us to only use what is needed when cooking to limit the amount of work after the food is eaten. I have so many memories of my dad teaching me and my brother all different types of tricks that will help us be better at making food. My love of cooking and just food in general has gotten me to go home and visit my family more often because as of right now I live in the dorms and don’t have a kitchen, a sink, or anything to make my own food. The only thing I can cook is raman in the microwave. So I know every time I get tired of eating the same food at commins or at jones I can just take a weekend trip back home and I know I can learn even more about cooking and be able to do what I enjoy which is make food.

Another reason why food means enjoyment for me is I love cooking for people and surprising people with freshly cooked food. I have so many memories of when my parents would go out of town and me and my brothers and sometimes my cousins would all spend the night at my grandmother's house and sometimes in the morning we would wake up very early to surprise he with breakfast with only the food that she had at her house which was a very limited selection. I remember one morning it was just me and my little cousin Mathew were the only ones who wanted to make my grandmother breakfast. I remember when we went to look for something to make her and everyone else all there were a dozen eggs and some store bought cinnamon rolls. Using what we had we still made breakfast for her and everyone else but it was nothing special. I remember when we surprised everyone with the meal I was so disappointed to just be giving them cinnamon rolls and eggs but my grandmother was so happy that we had made her breakfast. My best part about food is how it makes people feel.

What food represents to my community is a way of connecting with the other members of the community. In my neighborhood, which is my community, there would always be block parties where everyone had a tray of food and it would be just a big party with everyone. At these block parties are how I was first introduced to most of my neighbors. Everyone is always busy with work, school, and other activities that are the only time that most people are free to meet their neighbors and talk and catch up with the people that they live next to. In my community food brings people together.

Food means a lot to my community because it is a way of connecting with people by sharing your tradition or your style of cooking with the people you live next to who might not have talked to otherwise. But food to me means a whole different thing. To me food is a way of connecting with family and friends for a celebration of any kind. It is also a place where some of the best memories with my family accursed. It is the place where my dad taught me many life lesions. Food for me represents not what is actually being eaten but it represents a connection of people and traditions in a meal.

Banana Bread Ingredient

Amount

Sugar

1 Cup

Unsalted Butter

1 Stick

Large Eggs

2

Old Brown Bananas

3

Milk

1 Tbsp.

All-Purpose Flour

2 Cups

Baking Powder

1 Tbsp.

Baking Soda

1 Tbsp.

Salt

1 Tbsp.

Instructions 1.

Mix until all ingredients are combined and put in the oven at 325 for about an hour

The Use of Food in Flowers in the Attic

By Katie Frederick

F

lowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews follows the Dollanganger children's life after the loss of their father.

After his death, their mother moves them back into her childhood home, where they are locked up in a room with access to the attic. This is done because she fears that her dying father will not give her any inheritance, leaving her and the children without anything. The first half of the book covers the children's first year there, and the second half covers a few years of their lives in that space. After Cory, one of the twins, begins to get sick, Chris and Cathy, the oldest, find a way out of the room to steal money to get themselves and the twins out.

This all comes to a head after Cory gets very sick and dies, and their mother and new husband move out, leaving nothing. But when Chris found nothing when he went to steal, he learned several things, that their grandfather had been dead for a year, that their grandmother had been telling the staff that they were trying to kill mice in the attic. This leads Chris to figure out the powdered sugar donuts they had been getting were laced with arsenic and that Cory had died of arsenic poisoning. They test the donuts on a mouse that they had been keeping as a pet, and it dies shortly after eating the donut. They collect the remaining donuts and mouse as evidence. After Cathy, Chris, and Carrie leave and make it to safety, Chris tells Cathy the rest of what he knows and makes her decide what to do. Chris tells

her that their mother had been the one poisoning them because the will said she could have no children and should they turn the evidence in that she and Carrie will probably be sent to an orphanage. The book ends with them throwing away the evidence and getting ready to start their new life.

Food is an essential aspect of Flowers in the Attic. The book can be broken into three different parts when talking about food. The first section is food before they go to live at the Foxworth manor. The second is when they first come to the manor until the incident between the grandmother and Cathy.

The section is what comes after the incident. At the beginning of this section, the donuts are introduced as their treat for the day. In Flowers in the Attic, food is being used to show the children's lack of control over their lives, their dependence on outside factors such as the grandmother and mother, and its use as a tool of control.

Food is first introduced in the book when Corrine, the mother, and the children are waiting for the father to get home from work; “the wonderful meal Momma had spent so much time preparing was drying out from being too long in the warming oven (Andrews, 15).� Shortly after this, the reader finds out that the father had been killed driving home from work. There is an immediate from all of horror and disbelief. After this, the next

few mentions of food come with people bringing over food to help the family as they bury the father, and Corrine begins to plan what to do. The next two interactions with food helped set up Corrine as not fully there or a competent mother without their father, Christopher. In both instances, Cathy is asking Corrine to make them food as the twins are hungry, and Cathy is not really old enough to prepare dinner. In the first instance, Cathy asks her mother to make them food because the twins are hungry. Corrine gets irritated at Cathy and tells her that she is busy and that Cathy is old enough to warm up dinner for herself and the twins, as they had premade dinners from some of the neighbors. In the second instance, Corrine ignores their need for food and begins to talk to them about how she has been talking to their grandmother and that they would be going to stay with them. The children are told then to go off and pack very little and that the twins will get dinner on their way. All three of these instances show the children’s lack of control over their lives; as they were not able to control what happened to their father, their mother’s behavior after his death and lack of care for their needs, and the lack that they were going to have to leave their lives behind to go live at their grandparents’ manor. These instances also show their reliance on their mother to take care of them, and when she does not do it, they struggle to try to take care of themselves.

On their first day in the attic, the grandmother brings them food and explains the rules of living in the manor to them. She explains that they will be brought food once a day and that they will have to make that food last for all three meals. She also explains that they will never get candy as a treat because

they cannot get cavities. She also then gives them rules about food. Such as saying grace before each meal, brushing their teeth after each meal, and that they will eat all the food that is brought up to them. There are several descriptions of what they get to eat, with cereal and toast being common for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch, and a variety for dinners. There are automatically problems with the twins not liking the food that is brought to them and the fact that they have to store the food all day, meaning it’ll be soggy and cold. Throughout this section, it is a challenge to get the twins to eat the food that they are given because the twins are so disgusted by the food.

However, they are dependent on this food for survival because they can not leave to other food. This takes control of their ability to get nutrients out of their hands and makes them dependent on the grandmother. They have to trust that she will continue to feed them and not leave them up there to starve.

The children did have some good times within this section with food, though unlike the prior one. One of their happier moments was when they got Thanksgiving food that Corrine brought up to them. However, even the twins were fussy about the food, “we-ee don’t like cold food (Andrews, 166)!” A few times, their mother brings them specifically for Christmas. At this point, there is ambiguity between Cathy and Corrine because of the lack of care that Corrine is displaying towards the children. Bringing them treats is one of the ways that Corrine tries to compensate for not coming to see the children often. This works in these instances because she exclaims big plans to them about leaving and being ready to be back with the children. While not directly showing them

how reliant they are on her in these cases, she does provide them with food that they would have no access to without her.

By bringing them treats, she has a way to control their feelings towards her. Because while they may be irritated at her by bringing them food, they do not have access to will make them grateful and forget about their irritation.

The beginning of the third section is where the children begin to have many issues with food. After the grandmother catches Chris and Cathy not fully clothed in the same room, she decides to punish them. She threatens to take away their food unless Cathy cuts her hair off. After Cathy does not do it, the grandmother pours tar into her hair. After this, she stops bringing them food. After a week, Cathy and Chris get desperate enough to eat mice to have the strength to get themselves and the twins out through the attic and leave.

However, Chris returns with the picnic basket that they get their food in. The children do not have to eat the mice and slowly consume the food they usually get. Included in this were four powdered sugar donuts. After this, things returned to ordinary no matter what they were doing, which the children found weird but did not complain about. Corrine comes to visit shortly after the children are starved. She again manipulates them with gifts, including sweets that Cathy adores. This is a direct attempt to control Cathy's emotions towards her like she can do with Chris. At this point, she has almost no care for the twins. This is clearly seen when Cory gets very ill. Chris and Cathy believe it is just food poisoning until it continues to get worse. They beg their mother to take Cory to the doctor, and she eventually relents. She refuses to let Cathy go with them and returns, telling them Cory has died and been buried in a

grave under another name. Before this, Chris and Cathy had already been planning to escape with the twins and had been stealing from Corrine's room. Shortly after Cory's death, she and her husband leave-taking everything of value, and Chris discovers the truth about what had been happening. Chris figures out the powdered sugar donuts they had been getting were laced with arsenic and that Cory had died of arsenic poisoning. And that was why he and Cory had been sick multiple times; and why Cathy and Carrie both also were beginning to get sick. They decide then they must leave immediately. They ultimately decide not to turn in the evidence they have because they do not want to get separated. In this section, food was used to show the children's lack of control over their lives, their dependence on outside factors, and its use as a tool of control. They finally did control their lives back, but that was after losing their brother and almost dying themselves. Due to the people they were depending on to keep them alive. Food showing their dependence on outside factors and its use to control them was clearly demonstrated in the grandmother's starving them to try to get Cathy to cut her hair.

Food in literature often has a deeper meaning than what is presented on the surface level. Food represented multiple things in this book and had a much deeper meaning in the children's life. The use of food as a method of control over the children was one of the book's center points. It showed their dependence on outside factors and how it showed how little control the children had; played into how it was used to control them.

Bon Appétit Food plays a very important part in multiple aspects of my life.

It is used as a form of celebration, comfort, and fun. I personally love to cook and enjoy doing it whenever I can. Some of my most important memories involve food. When celebrating, my family does not typically cook. Instead, we eat a meal at a restaurant. However, for comfort, we always cook at home, and typically it is some sort of family recipe.

One of the ways that food has been used as celebration in my family is through its use for birthdays. In my family, when my sister and I were younger, we used to get a donut for our birthdays and get to pick a birthday dinner. As we have grown up, we have stopped getting donuts but have continued to get a birthday dinner. Even after my parents divorced, we continued this tradition. We get two birthday dinners, one with my mom and one with my dad. I turned eighteen this June, which I did not get to do much during the middle of a pandemic. I did get my birthday dinner, though, which I am very grateful for because it gave me some normalcy that I had not had in a while. Another tradition we have added as my sister and I have gotten older is getting bundt cakes from a store in south Denton. My sister and I get to choose what kind we want to get, and then my parents typically get it with just the birthday decorations that they have. This year though, I get a

princess one. My mom and sister’s rationale was it was my last time being a child, and I should enjoy it with some silliness.

Another way food has been used as a celebration was for after games. My family and friends typically go out for a meal after games. It is a time to socialize after the stress of the games. It has always been really nice to have these meals because no matter what, I had a good time with the people I cared most about. A lot of times, these meals have been held at Chili’s or Miguelito’s, a local Mexican restaurant. These places could seat a large number of people and always have a friendly atmosphere. It was really hard this year not getting to make those memories during water polo season. I lost a lot of time t that I would have been able to spend with my team, which was really hard for me.

The last way my family uses food for celebration is for events like graduation. I am the oldest child, so this was the first graduation for my parents. It was really hard on all of us because we could not go celebrate as a family afterward.

Instead, while I was graduating, my family sat in my dad’s car and ate snacks. My mom was horrified that my dad and sister were eating cookies and beef jerky in the middle of my graduation. Afterward, I did not get to eat with them because of the chaos that was graduation. Instead, much like birthdays, I got separate meals with them to celebrate. It was not what I envisioned at all for my dinner after graduation, but I am grateful for what I got.

One of the ways we use food as a comfort is to recreate meals from the midwest. My family is originally from Nebraska, and

not all the restaurants or food from up there are available in Texas. One of the restaurants that we always try to eat at is Runza; it is a fast-food restaurant that has the best food and has almost no restaurants outside Nebraska. Their runza sandwiches are not available anywhere else; they do sell frozen ones, but it is nowhere near the same as getting a fresh one.

While we were up there, we were talking to my grandmother about it; she came up with a recipe for homemade ones. They were great, not quite the same, but they were really great. We make homemade ones quite frequently and love them. One of the reasons I was so excited when I was planning on going to the University of Nebraska was that I would actually get to eat the food that I miss so much.

that my family does cook for comfort, though. It makes the feelings behind it feel more real; there is an artificialness to only ever eating out at restaurants for comfort. I kind of like that I get a mix of both, though, and that celebrations get to be held in a public area.

Another way we use food as comfort is at funerals. I have had to attend two funerals and my life. Both were in the midwest, and they were both about as midwest as you can get. One of my clearest memories I have is about some of the food there. In the midwest, green jello with tuna fish is an old and traditional thing to bring to funerals. I have no idea who thought this was a good idea or who thought it should be brought to funerals, but it was there both times. I personally have never ate it, but I remember all the older people eating it while, the younger generations stayed as far away from it as possible. I also remember that nothing was store-bought at these events. It was all strictly homemade.

I personally enjoy cooking and love to try new recipes. Over quarantine, I learned how to bake banana bread, and it was a mess. The first time I tried to make it was a mess. I decided to try this instant pot banana bread recipe. It looked like soup after we cooked it, and it left a mess in the pan. My mother and I could not figure out what had gone wrong. Later I realized that I had only floured that sides of the pan. I did not actually mix in the flour needed into the batter‌ The next time I made it turned out better. This time I did not use the instant pot, and instead, I decided actually to bake it in the oven. This time turned out better, but it still was kind of undercooked in the middle. I was determined to get it right, so I decided to bake another one. This one came out perfectly. I was so excited I texted my friends to ask them who wanted banana bread because I could make a couple more. Well, the next one I made completely fell apart and was so undercooked that I could not believe that it had been in the oven for over an hour. I had to text my friend and tell him that I could not bring him banana bread because it had fallen apart when I had taken it out of the pan.

I find it interesting that my family only cooks for comfort and not for celebration. I know with most families, they tend to either stick to all homemade or all restaurant food. I appreciate

The next time I cooked for people was for my dad and sister. I decided I wanted to try to make ratatouille. When I went to the store, I knew that it probably would not be good because when

I got the eggplant, I knew that it would not cut like I wanted it to. When I was making it, it looked okay despite the odd sizing of the different vegetables next to each other. It actually turned out really good, while I have not been able to make it since I am looking forward to making it in the future.

was just over it at that point. When it came to making the actual whip cream, I just powered through it because I wanted the project to be over so badly. But when all put together, it actually did taste really good, it was not my favorite thing I have made, but I may make it again.

The next time I cooked was quiche for my mom while I was home from college. I was not expecting much from this when I made it. I just looked up a recipe and decided to try it. When I was making it, I was just kept thinking that it was going to be inedible. Even when putting, I spilled some and took it as a sign that I should not be making it. When it came out of the oven, though, I was shocked. While the crust did not look that good, the actual quiche looked good. I actually did not get to try it because I made it right before I went back to college. But I was told it was really good and got to try it the next time I made it when I was at home.

Cooking brings me great joy because it gives me new experiences while not having to go anywhere. I enjoy that it can be challenging if you want to make it be or easy if that is what you decide. I also love being able to cook for those that I care about. I love knowing that they are enjoying what I am making and that I can do something good for them. Food is a very important aspect of my life, and I plan to continue to make it an important aspect.

The most recent time I have cooked was for Thanksgiving. I decided to make Mississippi mud pie. I really did not think about how much work it was going to take. The first thing I had to do was make the cake. I created a mess while doing so and kept putting extra minutes on the timer because it did not look done, but the recipe said it would not look completely done.

The true mess came when I was making the pudding. When making it, I messed up multiple times and did not get the chemical reaction needed to really make it pudding. When we took it out of the fridge to see its consistency the next day, it still was still liquid. Only one tiny corner had gotten to the consistency that was needed. I had to remake it completely and

Winona's Meatball Recipe

Ingredient

Amount

Ground Beef

3 lbs.

Oats

1 Cup

Chopped Onion

1

Eggs

2

Ketchup

2 Cups

Mustard

2 Tbsp.

Brown Sugar Worcester Sauce

1/3 Cup 2 Tbsp.

Instructions 1.

Combine the hamburger, oats, onion, eggs, and milk

2.

Shape into meatballs

3.

Place in a 9x13 pan

4.

Combine the ketchup, mustard, brown sugar, and Worcester sauce

5.

Pour the mixture over the meatballs

6.

Bake at 350°F for 1 hour