Food is Love

I arise early in the morning, a bright and early 8:30am, and head downstairs to start the morning grind. I work out in my basement and after beads of sweat are dripping off my forehead, I begin to crave my breakfast. Entering the kitchen, I get right to work, pulling out the sleek Vitamix blender and lugging it up onto the shiny counter. In the meantime, I gather the necessary ingredients to get to work on my breakfast, a thick smoothie bowl with only the healthiest of superfood ingredients.

Every morning slightly differs depending on the ingredients we have on hand, however this morning we have a plethora of frozen banana slices in a massive Ziplock bag that I had prepared the morning before, and frozen mangoes from Trader Joes. I grabbed the almond milk from the refrigerator, along with a few Medjool dates.

After tossing a handful of each ingredient in the blender, followed by the smallest splash of almond milk, I hit the lever and it began to blend. During the minute or so that it took to combine, I grabbed the topping ingredients from my cabinet I would use for the day; chia seeds, honey, toasty homemade granola and red-wine colored goji berries. I loved using my creativity to concoct new combinations of frozen fruit for the smoothie base. I also loved customizing the toppings depending on what I was feeling that day. It takes time to get the perfect consistency of the smoothie, but once I have perfected the thickness, I spoon the smoothie out of the blender and into the star of the show, my coconut bowl. I then begin to sprinkle the toppings on the smoothed top and am content to see the colorful array of toppings on the smoothie bowl. The bowl is not complete without a drizzle of liquidy golden honey to add the perfect amount of sweetness. This smoothie bowl is the best way to start my morning and gets my mind inspired to follow my day on a healthy track.

I have always tried my best to present my food in the most appealing way possible. I learned the best ways to photograph food, beginning with utilizing bright lighting outside or near a window. Additionally, white plates are the way to go to make the food look the most appealing. Lastly, it is crucial to garnish the plate with something colorful (sesame seeds, scallion pieces, a drizzle of a sauce) to add that gourmet look.

In fact, I decided to take my skills to the next level and begin a food Instagram account where I showed off my food creations. This taught me that consistency in the amount I posted, matched with appealing looking photography allowed my account to gain followers. Since the audience can only see photos of my food and can’t physically taste it, it’s necessary to make my food photography look aesthetically pleasing. Nothing gave me greater satisfaction than seeing multiple positive comments appear on a post of a gorgeous plate of food on my Instagram account. I was even lucky enough to gain brand deals such as MaryRuth Organics, Power Provisions and Vital Proteins with over 500 followers on my account!

Cooking taught me a lot about thinking about people other than myself, as I served them with the gift of food. All my life I have had the luxury of my mom cooking meals for my family, so I decided to give my mom a break in the kitchen and fill her role. She had taught me all her cooking skills, so I decided to pay it back and cook for her in return for all the years she did for me.

I gained a huge amount of responsibility cooking nightly family dinners, as my family’s large appetite was in my hands. This included figuring out how to prepare all the aspects of the meal in a timely manner so that everything would be ready at the same time. Time management is necessary when serving a meal, as having cold pasta next to steaming hot bread is not the best scenario. My position as head chef of the family also included setting the table, making everyone’s drink requests and having the kitchen tidy before eating.

During quarantine, there was nothing I looked forward to more than the minute the bright green HelloFresh box that arrived on our doorstep every Wednesday. Prior to receiving HelloFresh, a healthy and delicious meal delivery service that arrives weekly, I would create very simple meals, such as buttered pasta and scrambled eggs. By making 3 gourmet meals a week, I gained an admiration for creativity pairing foods, as well as a variety of cultural meals, from Hoisin Sriracha Pork Stir Fry to Thai Coconut Curry Chicken to Creamy Mushroom Cavatappi. Needless to say, we were spoiled with a luscious array of options to satisfy our palates.

Later that Wednesday night, like little kids, my brother Brian and I excitedly took the brown bag of HelloFresh goodies out of the fridge and emptied its contents onto the kitchen counter. Brian observed the recipe card for our personal favorite of the HelloFresh recipes- the Asian Firecracker Meatballs. He looked up from what we were to prepare this week and asked me, "Hey Kath, how do you want to divide the dinner?"

"I can start on cutting the scallions if you prepare the jasmine rice!"

"Sounds good," he replied as I searched for the worn wooden cutting board and shiny large knife to begin my work. During quarantine I was able to spend precious time with my family, given the large amount of free time we had. Time in the kitchen allowed us to grow not only as siblings but as best friends, bonded by good food. Not only were we able to work together to figure out the necessary jobs to be done in the kitchen, but we also learned how to make good timing so that our food didn’t get cold.

After removing the steaming hot soy sauce/ ginger meatballs from the oven, the sweet and tangy aroma of a Japanese restaurant swirled around our kitchen. We let them cool for about 10 minutes, and in the meantime, Brian worked on whisking together the sauce they were coated in- a mixture of sour cream, mayonnaise, sriracha, honey, soy sauce, minced garlic and minced ginger. The sauce alone is enough to make your mouth water.

Brian and I paid close attention to detail when “plating,” the process of putting each food on the plate nicely to give it that professional, restaurant-quality look. We tried our best to challenge ourselves to create photo-worthy and appetizing plates each day. To plate this recipe, we gathered 5 white porcelain plates and spooned on a bed of fluffy jasmine rice. We then followed it with 3 firecracker meatballs sitting on top and drizzled a plethora of extra sauce (aka liquid gold). “Watch out Kath, the vegetables are coming out hot!” Brian said, his oven mitt brushing past me holding the burning hot tray of an assortment of colorful roasted vegetables. I used my large spatula and shoveled the steaming vegetables from the tray to be alongside the rice. Finally, we garnished the plates with delicate bright green scallions and a sprinkle of sesame seeds. At this point we could not wait any longer to enjoy this labor of love with our family members.

As I got more comfortable in the kitchen, my passion for cooking and baking grew over time. On a crisp day in March, I was bored in the kitchen and decided to put my spare time to good use. I had a couple recipes in mind from Pinterest and was willing to not only challenge myself to make new recipes, but to give these treats away to my friends in isolation to hopefully brighten their day. I found myself spending upwards of 4 hours in the kitchen that day, making one recipe after the next, first delicately wrapped s’mores tartes, then Bon Appetit brown butter chocolate chip cookies and finally, mini key lime pies. I wrapped them individually in small brown boxes with tissue paper and a warm handwritten note and left them in 10 of my friend’s mailboxes around town.

My mother always told me that “food is love” and stressed the importance of giving. I found much satisfaction in sharing my creations with others, especially during a pandemic where everyone is stuck at home. During a lonely time where I had not seen my best friends in weeks due to the virus, these little packages of love served to fill that empty void. Cooking gives me that fulfilling feeling in which my generosity and creativity could brighten someone’s entire day.