When we think of food, ingredients, dishes and meals come to mind -- the dinner we recently enjoyed, something served at a favorite restaurant or take out spot, a go-to lunch plate, or maybe a family recipe. There are many layers to a favorite food. Is it the taste? The practice of procuring that meal? The good times you’ve had while enjoying it? Or the careful art of making it?
Food is visceral experience. We make deep connections through the food we eat. Our memories, experiences, and preferences are what make up our food values. These food values are important to our daily lives. They help shape our personalities and forge connections with people, places and points in our lives.
We learn so much about each other when we talk about what we eat, what we ate, and what we want to eat.
MAP Youth in the Mobile Market work group recently worked on telling our Food Story -- the practice of recalling and sharing a deep connection to food. We traced a favorite food back to our earliest or favorite memory of it, in hopes to get to know each other a little better.
This is Echo's Food Story!
I always try to eat as often and as much as I can, though I am picky and don't have a great appetite T_T so sometimes it is very hard for me to feel full. As a kid, I would often end up in hospitals since I wasn't able to get enough nutrients by eating. Now this does not mean I disliked eating, I enjoy eating and making food an immense amount, I just never had the stomach to eat as much as I wanted to.
Where I come from (Puerto Rican and Dominican heritage), food is very important. Food is a way of coming together with family, staying healthy, and (in my family) it includes a few rules to show appreciation and respect. One of the things that is expected is that we eat all of our food to show we enjoyed it.
In my family, cooking [techniques & recipes] are mostly passed down to the oldest daughter or daughters over all. Although I don't like this from our tradition, women are usually the one to make the food, so it is passed down by/to them only.
Now, some practices that I do enjoy are cooking with family as a group in special events and coming together to eat all at the same time.
Habichuela Dulce comes from my mom's side of the family and it is very special to me since it was one of my favorite desserts. I have happy and upsetting memories with it, but that just makes it more special. When I first tasted it, I was just a toddler. Although I don't remember much, I recall enjoying it a lot. I mostly have it when my families get together. The oldest women were always asked to make it, thanks to having the most experience at making the dish. I'm not sure where this dish comes from but I do know that it's been in my family for a long while as a very special traditional Dominican dessert.
Habichuela Dulce is a bit dense, but incredibly yummylicious. It's warm like hot cocoa, and also has a good amount of sweetness to it, not too sweet or too bean-ie. The density of the sauce and how warm it is feels nice in the mouth. It's light but filling. Sometimes we add cookies and raisins to it too, giving it a slight chewy texture to make the taste stay in your mouth for longer and being able to enjoy it more. Every time I eat it, I just keep wanting more. Every time I eat it, I think about my family and get flashbacks of all the good and not so good memories with them.
Make Habichuela Dulce!
You buy dried beans and put them to boil and when they are really tender, you add sweet potato, cinnamon sticks, sugar, evaporated milk, vanilla, and you leave it until it gets a LITTLE dense. You serve it in a tiny bowl and add tiny cookies.
Ingredients:
~dried beans
~boiling water
~sweet potato
~cinnamon sticks
~sugar
~evaporated milk
~vanilla
Here's a recipe that is similar to how we make Habichuelas Dulce!
Ingredients:
~dried beans
~boiling water
~sweet potato
~cinnamon sticks
~sugar
~evaporated milk
~vanilla
Here's a recipe that is similar to how we make Habichuelas Dulce!
Share Your Food Story!
Think of-your relationship with food.
-your personal history with food, eating, diet, wellness.
-your food heritage.
-food patterns you participate in, traditions you hold dear, practices that are unique to you.
-how you have come to know a particular food
-where ingredients come from
-how food is made, where food is made, when food is made
Choose a food you are close to.
Trace this food back to your earliest memory of it. Think of a dish or ingredient, its significance, the preparation, the taste and overall feeling you get when eating it. Think of how you will carry on the tradition of making or eating this food for years to come.
-your personal history with food, eating, diet, wellness.
-your food heritage.
-food patterns you participate in, traditions you hold dear, practices that are unique to you.
-how you have come to know a particular food
-where ingredients come from
-how food is made, where food is made, when food is made
Choose a food you are close to.
Trace this food back to your earliest memory of it. Think of a dish or ingredient, its significance, the preparation, the taste and overall feeling you get when eating it. Think of how you will carry on the tradition of making or eating this food for years to come.
Tell me your food story.
If you would like to share your food story on our blog, please leave a comment below or send your submission to danielle@mass-ave.org.
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