Cooperative Arts & Humanities Magnet High School

Observations on meals we’ve had...

Thai food with Adeline Bontly

As we all know, everyone needs to eat but many of us never take the time to really appreciate what we are doing – to appreciate all of the aspects of a meal in depth. Have you ever stopped while eating to think: why are we here? How do we know what we know? What is right and what is wrong? How do we get along in our environments? And what is beauty and its role in recreation? In this essay, I will dive into a recent meal that I have eaten and analyze it using each of these questions.

The first question is: Why are we here? A few nights ago, my family gathered together to eat dinner as a family. We ate Thai food that we had gotten as takeout. Every Friday night, my family orders takeout and we enjoy dinner together before watching a movie. During the meal, I paused to think about the above questions, the first being: why are we here? The four of us (my mom, dad, sister, and I) all came over not only to eat to nourish our bodies but also to spend time together as a family.

We spend most of the day apart at school, work, and extracurricular activities but almost every night, we come together to share dinner. Dinner time is when we get to talk to each other and hear about one another's days. My sister talked about her classes, I spoke of the musical, and my parents talked about work. As teenagers, my sister and I don’t spend much time with our parents and often don’t share much with them about our lives but this is the time when we get to. We also talk about politics and other things going on in the world which has built a strong foundation and understanding for my sister and I. Even if we don’t talk about anything particularly important, we are still learning things and enjoying one another’s company.

The second question is: How do we know what we know? We know that this food comes from Thailand but my family never stopped to think about the culture attached to all of the dishes that we eat. Something that we do know however, is that food from Thailand is generally very spicy. In the 16th century, Portuguese traders brought chilis into Thailand. The main chili that was brought is called Birds Eye Chili. Ever since it was brought here, it has been heavily incorporated into the Thai diet for a few key reasons.

One reason is that chili is a preservative. Back before modern technology including refrigeration was discovered, people needed to use natural preservatives to keep their food fresh and chili worked perfectly. Another reason that chili is used so frequently is that spicy food is wonderful for digestion. It can stimulate appetite and it also boosts metabolism. In addition to this, it reduces the risk of ulcers and inflammation.

Another thing that we know about Thai cuisine is that rice is a must-have staple food. In Thailand, rice is typically eaten with every meal of the day. Not only is rice a very sustainable and fast growing food but it has become the center of many traditions. Thailand is now the country with the 2nd highest rice exports in the world.

The third question is: What is right and what is wrong? This question has infinite possible answers. Every family has different traditions and ways that they eat but, eating together as a family is always right. My family also does its part to reduce food waste by saving leftovers and eating them the next day. The meal that we ate was also generally pretty healthy which is important to think about as well.

There are, however, some things that were wrong with my family's meal. One of these things is that in all of the dishes that we ordered, there was some sort of meat. Eating meat is horrible for the environment. The mass production of animals and then the processing of their products lead to so many carbon emissions that are destroying our planet. Eating meat also leads to animal cruelty because not only are we killing the animals, but they are also raised in captivity with horrible conditions throughout their short lives.

We all know that eating animals is harmful so why do we still do it? Many people say that humans must eat meat to survive but that is simply not true. We just have a culture where it is very difficult to eat only meat. Many people don’t have access to alternative proteins. Non-meat proteins are usually very expensive and can be hard to find. Another reason that people often continue to eat meat is that we often have the mindset of “I’m just one person, I can’t make a difference”. If everyone thinks this way, there will never be a difference but the more people stop eating meat, the greater the impact.

The average vegetarian saves about 400 animals a year by giving up meat. This might not sound like a lot but just think, each of those animals is a living being that deserves a life. There is a social aspect to it as well because often, vegetarians are teased or called overly sensitive just because of them doing their part to help the world. Humans need to do a much better job of reducing carbon emissions and becoming vegetarian is a great way to start. While my family does try to reduce our meat consumption, we could be doing much more.

The fourth question is: How do we get along in our environments? We all belong to many different environments. In our home environment, while my family is pretty tight knit, there are occasionally times when the conversation feels forced or we just don’t feel like talking but we always push through.

In a wider environment including our city, there are many ways that this meal shows our interactions. In the city of New Haven, where I live, there is lots of variety of culture. It is incredible how many different types of global cuisine that our city has access to. It gives all of the city’s residents lots of important experiences to connect with and gain knowledge of the other parts of the world that we wouldn’t have access to otherwise.

A problem with all of this contact with the rest of the world, however, is that we don’t use our local resources nearly as much as we should. The Thai restaurant likely imports their ingredients from all around the country or even the world. While it is good to have access to these things, it does cause a bit of an economic struggle in our city. Local produce is not used as frequently so it often goes to waste and the farmers in our community often struggle to make a living. We all need to do our part to use more local resources as the shipping of ingredients also harms our planet.

The fifth and final question is: What is beauty and its role in recreation? I think that something beautiful about this meal was the time that my family spent together. We made jokes, we laughed, and we all just had a really good time. Because of these shared meals, our family is much more close knit than we would be otherwise. I am so thankful that my family gets the opportunity to spend this time together because I know that many people don’t get this quality time with their families.

This plays a large role in recreation because when my family spends this time together we aren’t worrying about all of the things going on around us, we are focused on one another. Because of the trusting bond we have, we can all let down our guards around each other. This gives us the opportunity to focus on our relationships and on learning important life lessons and social skills that many people in this day and age don’t have. We look forward to this tradition every week and it is something special to us that we will remember forever.

We all eat everyday but we often just rush through our meals without a second thought. People view meals as simply a time to eat food and fuel their bodies when in reality, it is about much more. We eat together for company and understanding; we gain new knowledge throughout our meals; we find equality and inequality in all that we do; we interact with the people and environments surrounding us; and finally we find the beauty and art in everything around us. This leads to a deeper appreciation for what we have and also for what we need to work on. We should apply these questions into our everyday lives to not only understand how we eat, but to understand how we live.

Sushi with Scarlett Ardon

I sat down on my couch with two plastic straws in my hand and a picture off of google I found in 3 seconds. I practiced. Practiced, practiced, practiced and practiced for a meal I've been wanting to try for ages. My parents finally wanted to bring me to eat this meal, so I had to eat it traditionally. I knew that over time, even if it was with straws, I’d get the movement down, and I did. As soon as I walked into that restaurant, a savory scent filled my nostrils. I was excited, because I've wanted to try this meal for so long, however I wondered: “What if I don't get to come back again? What if mom and dad don't like it?” I laugh at that now. I laugh at that a lot.

Originating from the 2nd Century BC, along the Mekong River originates this special food. Sometimes it's sweet, sometimes it's tangy and sometimes it's even spicy. I don't like the spicy ones though. I give them to my dad. Perhaps if this wasn't too obvious now, my food is sushi. It's debatable to many whether it is good or not, however all I know is that in my opinion – it's delicious! The journey to liking sushi, not so much in my case but in the case of my parents, however, definitely wasn't easy. I remember when I first had my parents try it, they tried nigiri. Nigiri is even more debatable than rolls since they are pretty bland. I like them though, so of course over time my parents started liking them too. Eating sushi with chopsticks is the traditional way to do it. My dad is pretty good at maneuvering them. He has his own way at holding them, but yet again, so do I. He can pick the rolls up, sometimes they crumble but as long as they enter his mouth it's alright. My mom is a different case. She does it completely wrong. It's honestly quite embarrassing because every time we go she always makes me ask for the “kid chopsticks” so she can use them. As payback, I make fun of her a bit for it, and we all laugh together. Infinite smells enter my nose, spices and raw fish filling the air, and as disgusting as it sounds to others, it is one of our favorite smells. But as much as the smell alone is good, the taste is even better. Sure, it tastes like raw fish and rice, but once you try it you can't get enough. My parents and I didn't really get along on the topic of sushi in the beginning.

My parents aren't picky at all, and neither am I; however it was, and still is, a bit hard to get them to try foods from other countries. They stick mainly to Hispanic food as much as they are willing to eat everything. Once I got them to like it, it strengthened our bond so much more. Everything new we tried, we tried it together. “I don’t like this one,” says my mom, and my dad will gobble it up. Every new roll we tried and every piece of sushi we had a comment on, we shared it together, and that's what's most important to me. Sushi is delicate – neatly stacked in specific order and are made with precision and love. It's funny because they always look so pretty in the beginning but the plate is a total mess by the end. My mom always pulls out her phone to take a picture before we eat. “Mami, apurate tengo hambre!” I say, waiting to grab my favorite eel sushi. She never goes quick. Now, as much as I used to rush her, I joined her in the picture taking too. Although we eat sushi pretty often, to me it's something special every time, because it's completely different to the food we eat at home.

I don’t really eat dinner. It's something not only I skip, but something we all skip. Unless we are all really hungry – we will eat. But otherwise we’ll just have a snack and call it a day. That's kind of how it’s beautiful to eat sushi in a way for us too – because we never really eat at that hour. That's why as much as I want my eel, I let my mom take her time with her pictures. I let my dad take the spicy ones. To me, it's not about how pretty the sushi is, or how tasty it is. It's about spending time with them, and bonding over something even though we have our disagreements.

From using straws as chopsticks to eating the meal every 2 weeks or so, sushi is one of the most important foods in my life. Not because it's delicious (though it is) but because of the beauty behind it. I went from dragging my parents into a restaurant full of characters we did not recognize to a restaurant in which I walk in and the waiter asks me: “For 3?” I never knew much about the history behind sushi, and I still don’t. But what I do know is that it's made with utmost care, precision and love. It's sweet, salty and tangy, and a perfect mix with soy sauce. I always eat my sushi with a Coke, even though it's not very good since it fills you up quickly. I skip the wasabi and the ginger, but my mom makes me eat it sometimes because it's “good for me.” Every single different flavour of roll and nigiri is perfect, and just thinking about the people that made them and the history behind them is beautiful. Even though the journey to sushi becoming an enjoyable experience for the 3 of us was rocky, it's not only about how good the food is now. It's about the people you share it with.

Chicago Cast Dinner with Charlotte Perreault

I love eating dinner during the musical. As much as it’s annoying and exhausting to be at school until around 8:45-9:00pm, I absolutely love the environment and the people. As opposed to supper during regular afterschool, which is just regular school food, it’s actually catered which is really wonderful. The past couple of weeks they’ve had a pretty good selection of food. There was pizza, fried chicken, sandwiches, mac and cheese, and some exceptionally bland mashed potatoes. The roar of applause when it was announced that there was mac and cheese was truly delightful! On opening night, Kat's mom made cookies. We’ve had cookies almost every day, but those were exceptional – there’s really no match for homemade cookies. Theater people have a tendency to be a bit loud, and normally I’d be overwhelmed by the noise, but having a moment to just speak above a whisper is incredibly needed. I may be a quiet person, but I cannot stand silence – it presses at my ears like it’s trying to break into my head. And the dressing room can be dead quiet when the cast members are out of the room. I’m glad I'm getting the chance to eat before the show because my stomach is flipping like an Olympic gymnast. It’s not like I have much to do. But the cheaply made or old dresses do tend to get ripped and sometimes people misplace their costume pieces. I really do love this stuff but it sucks the energy out of you.

Friday Homemade Pizza with Katerina Talbert-Slagle

Dinner, an abstract thought to some but a routine for others. Everyone should have at least one dinner that is important to them. A meal that they love. For my family, we sit and watch a movie while eating homemade pizza every Friday.

My dad will make dough, prepare sauce and decorate the bread with cheese and toppings very carefully with love. To me, this is a dinner, this is something I’m proud of. I boast about this meal to my friends and I look forward to it at the end of the week. Not only is it delicious but this piece of food has brought my family together for years.

I used to help my dad make this meal and he has taught each member of my family how to make this food. I can’t quite remember every detail, but it is not something that I would necessarily think was easy and could be done by just anyone. Knowing how this food is made added to the significance and allure of the food. This pizza isn’t just something that needs to be wrapped up and thrown in the oven, it takes hours to prepare for and cook. To me, the idea of making the pizza is daunting, but the fact that my dad does it every Friday night is an expression of love that I only feel through this specific meal.

True, some people might see this way of sitting together as ungrateful or disrespectful. Which might be true in some ways. We don’t set a table, we don’t have topics of conversation. We are instead in each other's company, which is enough for us. It is the company that matters, not the setting. My family has had rough points in relationships like all families, but eating is something we all enjoy and our love of food is something we can bond over no matter how we are eating it.

We also continue to eat this meal at least through the next day or even week through with the leftovers. Personally, I have begun to love eating leftovers as a breakfast. Often on Saturdays, pizza is my breakfast. My brother and I sometimes fight because we both eat it really fast, and everyone tries to get the leftovers before they’re gone. A true example of, “the early bird gets the worm.”

Everyone in my family has some idea of this recipe, but my dad knows it by memory. Memory is an art in and of itself. My dad has prepared this same dish hundreds of times to a point that he knows the measurements he needs before he even starts cooking. When he steps into the kitchen, he is like an artist with paint and a canvas. But, my dad also does use a recipe sometimes to switch up what he does. He may add things to the pizza or take things away. He almost always creates more than one. He has memorized the types of toppings, as well as the crust thicknesses, and the time it takes to cook all the versions that we all like.

This one meal unites my family in a way that not everyone might understand. It is a part of my life. It isn’t a routine but a part of my culture. I feel loved every time I eat this food, and it has built some of the love in our family we have today.

My mom makes the best mac & cheese. That’s a fact. Not an opinion. In my family, at least, it is the best mac & cheese ever made. She makes it during the colder months and is often the talk of the town at family functions. Not only does it taste amazing, but the connections made with this simple dish are what make it the best.

My mom is what we call a home cook. Makes good food at home and isn’t proud of it. She just simply cooks. Crab cakes, chicken noodle soup, grilled cheese, and of course, mac & cheese are just some of my favorite things she makes. My dad was a chef and had known contestants from Top Chef and even considered doing the show. He cooks just as much as my mom, and his food is definitely better at a professional level. However, I hold the belief that home cooks are the best cooks. My mom does use some professional techniques learned from my dad, but most of her recipes are her own or have passed down from over relatives.

My mom’s mac & cheese is her own recipe. The roux, the breadcrumbs, the fried leeks – all of that comes from her. She’s had no culinary experience, and my grandmother (her mom) isn’t the best cook. My mom’s inspiration for delicious cooking comes from my great grandmother (which is ironically my grandmother’s mom). A lot of my great grandmother’s recipes and tricks influence my mom. Such as cooking eggs in bacon grease and using lemon rinds in sugar cookies. And of course my dad influences my mom too.

My mom’s mac & cheese is something so special that my entire family loves it. They only get it for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and it’s a disservice to not bring it. Last year for Christmas, my mom didn’t bring her mac & cheese, and it was a disappointment. My grandmother stepped in and made her own mac & cheese, and it wasn’t particularly popular. It wasn’t bad actually, but it just wasn’t as special as my mom’s. My grandmother admitted to me directly while cooking that my mom’s mac & cheese is better than her own. She isn’t even upset that her daughter can make better food, those are just the facts.

And these recipes and tricks come from a home kitchen in Connecticut. It’s nothing crazy, it’s nothing professional, but it’s everything to us – special and humble. It’s our home, and our amazing food. I’ve had mac & cheese from fine dining restaurants and they just don’t compare to my mom’s. I had mac & cheese from a rather upscale dining place, with the typical breadcrumbs and great cheese. But this time, it had shrimp in it. I love shrimp and it complemented the pasta well! It was the best mac & cheese from somewhere outside of my mom’s. It was just as delectable as my mom’s, but it didn’t carry the sacredness of my mom’s. It didn’t have the conservation piece aspect, and it wasn’t shared throughout my family.

This is why I hate boxed mac & cheese, as it lacks both qualities of taste and specialty. I believe a true mac & cheese experience should have a good time spent making it, and boxed mac & cheese completely dismisses that. It also just doesn’t taste good.

It’s pretty enchanting to see that a simple homemade dish made by my mom connects my family. To see my family want it, and be able to eat it together at a table. I love mac & cheese.