Food Unites Us In My Family

By Lauren Ruckheim (Final project for Spring 2014)

Ever since I was a kid, food has been the excuse for my family to gather together. I come from a large German family, and food has played a vital role in the survival of my family. I can remember my grandfather telling me his childhood stories and explaining that when my family first immigrated to the United States we were so poor that my great grandmother would give him baked potatoes to put in his pockets and keep his hands warm as he walked to school and later have the potatoes for lunch. It is stories like these that have displayed to me that food represents my family’s survival and growth. When my family immigrated to the United States, the traditions they held onto were that of food because food represented their past and gave them a reason to come together and celebrate the future.

In addition to remembering our own ancestry, my family also likes to discover and explore other cultures cuisines. With that said, my family and I have experimented in making traditional Italian Dishes, Thai food, hand rolled sushi, and many more cuisines. When I come home for breaks, the first thing my mother asks me is what would you like to cook. From there, my family and I will spend the evening under my mother’s directions cooking, drinking, and catching up. It is one of the simplest activities and to this day the highlight of my trips home.

This past weekend when I went home for Easter break, my family and I decided to make Shrimp Pad Thai. On Friday afternoon, my sister and I met my mom at the grocery store ready to seek out all the ingredients for the dish. Like all of our cooking adventures, my mom acts as the group leading dividing up tasks and making sure all the cooking is going as scheduled. Being that I was the photographer for the evening, my tasks were quite simple such as chopping up garlic and peanuts and refilling the occasional empty cocktail. My dad’s role is always to prepare the meat. For this recipe, that meant cleaning the tails of all the fresh shrimp. My sister as a skilled mutitasker always takes it upon herself to make sure all the vegetables are washed, cut up, and ready to be prepared in the dish. In addition, she makes sure the kitchen stays clean and in working order as it gets quite chaotic with five people simultaneously cooking. As my mom is the group leader, she always takes on the most difficult roles that of preparing the sauces and combining all the ingredients in the stir-‐fry. In addition, she makes sure everyone else has a task and more importantly completes that task. Being that my brother likes to experiment with recipes of his own, he took it upon himself to create a chocolate cake with coffee frosting for dessert. Although I would not say chocolate cake is the appropriate dessert to go with Pad Thai, once my brother sets his mind to something there is no stopping him. In the mist of cooking, the kitchen is complete chaos. Everyone is cooking, dancing to the music, and talking loudly and excitedly. It is moments like these that epitomize what I love about home. Being that my siblings and I are all grown up and living on our own, it is these moments that bring us together.