11 Ways cooking brings the family together

11 Ways cooking brings the family together

We all love food, so why not share it?
Kelsy Allessi
Kelsy Allessi Dec 7, 2015
750
views

Cooking occurs in the kitchens of almost every household across the world. It’s the expression of an imaginative mind, hungry belly, and love for creating delicious food. Sharing the experience with your family can be a fun way to create lasting bonds and memories.

Here are just a few ways in which cooking brings a family closer.

1. Memories

Some of the best memories may be those of a family member creating one of their favorite dishes. My grandfather and I used to soak tomatoes in oil and spices hours before a meal so that they could have time to sit. When you have a family who loves to cook, the memories created while preparing a meal are often cherished for a lifetime.

2. Lessons

The passing from generation to generation of “secret ingredients” and tricks of the trade. Whether it’s a special way to make sure your pie crust doesn’t stick to the pan, or being able to recognize when an egg white is whipped to perfection, it’s all done through the teachings of family members.

3. Healthy competition

Whether it’s a holiday meal or a simple family dinner, a little battle of the wooden spoons is a great way to add some spice to the action. My dish usually wins…

4. Providing for your loved ones

Being able to cook a meal for the people you care for is a rewarding experience that brings everyone closer together.

5. Bonds created while working in the kitchen

The ties with your family grow stronger as you work together to prepare a meal, even though it may get a bit tight when everyone has to use the same cutting board at once.

6. Passing on the lessons that you’ve learned

One day, the lessons in which you were taught are once again ready to be passed on to another generation. Passing your skills onto children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews are key to keeping tradition.

7. Sharing

Whether it’s handing out jams and Jellies made fresh in your kitchen, or using your household as professional taste testers, you can always count on someone to try out your new creation.

8. Reminiscing

Creating your favorite dishes can bring back old memories of meal time conversations, loved ones, or a “taste of childhood” we all know and love.

9. Tradition

Keeping up with tradition can be a fun aspect of any meal time or preparation. Games, cooking roles, and special dates are just a few ways of maintaining those special memories.

10. Holidays

Celebrating holidays with family wouldn’t be the same without food. Lots and lots of food. Turkey, Christmas cookies, pasta, casseroles. You name it.

11. Spreading the love.

The best part after any cooking session, is being able to sit down with your loved ones to enjoy it.

Cover Image Credit: Personal photo
Kelsy Allessi
Kelsy Allessi Dec 7, 2015
At Le Moyne College

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Sorry Not Sorry, My Parents Paid For My Coachella Trip

No haters are going to bring me down.
Kaycie Allen
Kaycie Allen Apr 22, 2018
13
views

With Coachella officially over, lives can go back to normal and we can all relive Beyonce’s performance online for years to come. Or, if you were like me and actually there, you can replay the experience in your mind for the rest of your life, holding dear to the memories of an epic weekend and a cultural experience like no other on the planet.

And I want to be clear about the Beyonce show: it really was that good.

But with any big event beloved by many, there will always be the haters on the other side. The #nochella’s, the haters of all things ‘Chella fashion. And let me just say this, the flower headbands aren’t cultural appropriation, they’re simply items of clothing used to express the stylistic tendency of a fashion-forward event.

Because yes, the music, and sure, the art, but so much of what Coachella is, really, is about the fashion and what you and your friends are wearing. It's supposed to be fun, not political! Anyway, back to the main point of this.

One of the biggest things people love to hate on about Coachella is the fact that many of the attendees have their tickets bought for them by their parents.

Sorry? It’s not my fault that my parents have enough money to buy their daughter and her friends the gift of going to one of the most amazing melting pots of all things weird and beautiful. It’s not my fault about your life, and it’s none of your business about mine.

All my life, I’ve dealt with people commenting on me, mostly liking, but there are always a few that seem upset about the way I live my life.

One time, I was riding my dolphin out in Turks and Cacaos, (“riding” is the act of holding onto their fin as they swim and you sort of glide next to them. It’s a beautiful, transformative experience between human and animal and I really think, when I looked in my dolphin’s eye, that we made a connection that will last forever) and someone I knew threw shade my way for getting to do it.

Don’t make me be the bad guy.

I felt shame for years after my 16th birthday, where my parents got me an Escalade. People at school made fun of me (especially after I drove into a ditch...oops!) and said I didn’t deserve the things I got in life.

I can think of a lot of people who probably don't deserve the things in life that they get, but you don't hear me hating on them (that's why we vote, people). Well, I’m sick of being made to feel guilty about the luxuries I’m given, because they’ve made me who I am, and I love me.

I’m a good person.

I’m not going to let the Coachella haters bring me down anymore. Did my parents buy my ticket and VIP housing? Yes. Am I sorry about that? Absolutely not.

Sorry, not sorry!

Cover Image Credit: Kaycie Allen
Kaycie Allen
Kaycie Allen Apr 22, 2018
At Syracuse University

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Another Word On Coffee

I Tasted the Raw Bean
Danny Woomer
Danny Woomer Apr 22, 2018
68
views

Since my last spilling of words on the topic of coffee, fate has led me in an interesting direction. Allow me to take your hand, just give it here... You're really sweaty.

There I was, an hour before class, dying from the amount if sleep I deprived myself of. I could make coffee or go buy it for a gut punching price. I started some of my own brew, my own volition, my special bean. After pouring an overly confident cup, I nearly cried from a realization: I'm out of creamer. What was I to do? I was almost late for class with a poorly poured cup of black, untainted coffee. I did what anyone who often becomes uncomfortable in easily avoidable situations would do, I panicked and took it with me. I took no notice at first, it wasn't until I had forgotten I had the option to take a sip of boiling liquid that I remembered it wasn't comfort waiting for me in that thermos. Oh no, it was a surprise.

It wasn't too bad,for the first two hours. If I had a cup twice as small I might have finished it. But sadly, my heart couldn't take it. I went with the cautious route, too. Slow sips, a nice pace, the whole deal. I could only make it a fourth of the way down before hauling cheek to the nearest source of refined udders.

I finished it shortly after juicing up that bean torment. Maybe I'll acquire more of a taste for the condensed asphalt in the future, until then, my mouth remains the same.

Cover Image Credit: Pixabay
Danny Woomer
Danny Woomer Apr 22, 2018
At Western Carolina University

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