humanity
Humanity topics include pieces on the real lives of chefs, professionals, amateurs, inspiring youth, influencers, and general feel good human stories in the Feast food sphere.
Not The Way Grandma Used To Make It...
The first time I sold the World's Best Fudge at our local suburban market, I severely underestimated the power it had to change lives. Selling and marketing has never been my strong point, so I merely stuffed my product in some very ordinary brown-paper lunch-bags, and used my daughter's fairy stamp to mark them. Always a fan of alliteration, and for lack of a better brand-name, I dubbed myself the “Fudge Fairy”(I think I might have even worn a patched pair of kid's fairy wings so I looked the part), and then meekly sat in a chair behind my stall table, smiling weakly at passers-by. Needless to say, fudge sales were rather meagre that day.
By Kate Jenkins5 years ago in Feast
Love of Pie
Summers of my youth meant week long vacations at my grandmother’s house. On her farm, we would roam with an overprotective German Shepherd. His soft fur and doggy smell were comforting and warm. We ate Italian ice for lunch and swam all afternoon until my grandfather grilled our dinner. My grandmother’s garden was full of flavors of the earth; oregano, rosemary, and dill. Her tomatoes tasted like sunshine and the sauce she made from them was fire itself. I learned to appreciate the earth and what it gave to us, from her. Not only were the flavors produced in her kitchen exceptional, but the experiences were burned into my memory. The one dish that stands out in my mind was her rhubarb pie.
By Ann Ringle5 years ago in Feast
Have you forgotten the joy of food?
When did the food we eat become boring, stressful and tiresome? My earliest memories of eating take place at my grandparents’ house. Grampy’s speciality was eggs, toast cut into strips, served with a side of peas. To my childish delight and confusion, these strips of toast were called 'soldiers'. I remember him sitting next to me, telling me to eat the peas one at a time because they were too hot. To me, his word was gospel and for years I obediently impaled my peas individually - much to my parents’ despair, as they would impatiently wait for me to finish my meals.
By Alissa Mann5 years ago in Feast
Tea Queen
Iced, hot, flavored, herbal, black. There are so many ways to make it. There are so many styles. There are so many types to choose from, but I love all of them and know just how they are to be made. I am the Tea Queen. Very few understand this drink the way I do.
By Em Rodriguez5 years ago in Feast
Is it a cliche to say food is love?
Wandering in with my too heavy backpack, carefully taking off and placing my shoes in a well mannered fashion, and scrubbing my 3rd grade adolescent hands were the first two things I would do entering my Korean-American home. Cleanliness was always first. Organization and order were key. Delicious meals cooked with love was the second. Wafting through the air would be aromas of spice, tang, earthiness, and love. My fondest memories always revolved around the kitchen table. The key to my heart was the love my mother poured into her home cooked meals. The meals that friends would make fun of for being strange, different, and foreign. The meals that for the longest time I was embarrassed of. The tart smell of spiced fermented cabbage also known as kimchi, was my favorite when fried with fluffy jasmine rice, artfully scrambled eggs, the salty goodness of canned SPAM, and the delicate trace of sesame oil. I would stare with longing for my mother to finish from the dining table while I worked on my Math and English homework. The steam and smoke with fill the air and my stomach would churn knowing in 10 minutes my every craving and desire as a child was about to be fulfilled.
By Lisa DeRisi5 years ago in Feast
The Party Lasagna Chronicles
I've made approximately four lasagnas in my life that I can recall: one for Thanksgiving, one just because, and two to take to a college party. Think: your friend's apartment full of people you work and go to school with, craft beer bottles on every available surface (because you're all millennials), vodka bottles the size of Stanley Cups, Ring Of Fire, etc, etc. Your typical party for anyone ages 21 to 25, and I brought two lasagnas instead of, say, a bag of chips.
By lauren boisvert5 years ago in Feast
Grandad's signature sandwich
When I think of my grandad, I think of his thick, dark hair and his big, square glasses. I think of his voice as he'd say the word 'broccoli' with extra emphasis on the 'i', like 'broccoleye'. And I think of how that would drive me mad as I got older. Then I think of how he spilled tea on his shirt when he came to visit, and taught me how to solder circuits, and sat patiently with me as we flipped through pages of his old atlases.
By Mike Houldsworth5 years ago in Feast
Tuna, Peas and Cheese
My recipe is pretty simple--tuna, peas and cheese. But the memories, stories and feelings it invokes are what make it priceless to my family and myself. My mom was the chef of the house for my family of five--mom and dad, two older sisters, and myself. She made countless delicious meals for us each night and always had breakfast prepared for my sisters and I before school. They weren't gourmet meals by any means, but they were comforting and delicious. Cooked with love. Mom was sick the entire eight years of my life that I knew her and two years beyond that as well. So most of her meals were pretty healthy and restricted ingredient wise. Nevertheless, I don't remember a single meal of hers I didn't like (and I was a very picky eater as a child). And then the disease took her and my family of five became four.
By Eva Pearce5 years ago in Feast
A Meal That Made Poverty Seem Wealthy
I grew up poor. I was never homeless or without bare essentials, but I understood my family had less than others. My clothes came from thrift stores or second hand from friends and family. We sometimes had to trade in our TV for electricity, and a lot of the times, lunch consisted of saltine crackers with sliced American cheese.
By Ashlyn Harper5 years ago in Feast
