I am a Greek Jew and food is my specialty.
Now, I'm not here to tell you that any other culture, any other religion, or any other race has no idea what good food is. But I am telling you that there is nothing better than a warm bowl of homemade matzo ball soup on a cold day, or authentic spanakopita made by your Yia Yia (or your grandma, for non-Greek people).
I've always had an interesting relationship with food. My mother gave me a trait I like to call "streak eating." I would eat the same thing every single day for breakfast, and not get tired of it until one day when I just wouldn't eat it anymore. I did that with eggs, Eggo waffles, and a lot of other foods. I just totally killed them. To this day, Mom makes herself the same dish for dinner every single night when I'm at school.
Mom also had a set menu for the week: Mondays were for fish, Tuesdays were for tacos (because of course), Wednesdays were for chicken, Thursdays were for pasta, and Friday Dad made steak. Weekends were up in the air, but I always knew what was for dinner.
Dad's more creative with food. He gets tired of the same thing every day, so I learned how to experiment from him. I remember one experiment he failed at, using polenta to bread fish. It just wasn't cooked right. But there's been countless experiments he's knocked out of the park: most fondly I remember apple tacos from my childhood.
My Yia Yia makes some of the greatest dishes, inspiring me to go back to my Greek roots and cook things like spanakopita (which is a spinach and phyllo dough pastry) or pastichio, a delicious lasagna type dish. I also tap into my Jewish roots and try things like potato latkes and matzo ball soup on my own for the first time.
I love to cook, and I love to eat. A bit of a dangerous combination, but it works out well for me because I've tried so many new foods in the last few months, since now I have a kitchen to play around in. Those Facebook videos with all the recipes? I've tried five of them. They're out of this world.
Food is my love language. You know, how you show people you love them? My boyfriend is always being given little snacks and I'll make him extra dinner because that's how I show him I love him. Cooking for my roommate and our friends? Easiest thing in the world, because it's how I tell them "you all are very important to me and I want you to know this." If I invite you over for food, or offer you up something I made, I'm telling you I love you without saying the words.
I find food to be a tool to bring people together. You can have people from all walks of life, family who see each other once a year fly in from all over the world, and friends who have nowhere else to be all come together for a meal. People spend their days meal prepping and asking, "What am I going to have for dinner tonight" to their spouses, kids, parents, and roommates. Food is something that ties us all together in ways that we never even imagine.
