Tasting comforts of home food

When I was younger, I would sit near my mother’s feet on my Winnie the Pooh blanket and cradle her steel spice box. Inside were small, circular bowls filled to the brim with different spices in an explosion of burgundy, red and orange. My family took that steel box and made wonders out of it. We would take a spoonful of chili powder, a pinch of salt, a pinch of cumin seeds and make something new...

After a 20 hour flight from Dallas to Hyderabad, India, I would want nothing more than to fall into bed and sleep. The only thing that could stop me from succumbing to jetlag was my grandmother’s cooking.  Every time I traveled to India, my grandmother would make a paneer dish to welcome us. In times when my world feels shaken up and turned upside down, cooking this recipe replaces my longing for...

The first time I tasted my mother’s signature noodle dish was not at our home, but at a friend’s house. We fell so in love with their cooking that my mom had to get the recipe. With just a few tweaks and a couple of extra ingredients, our family’s iconic dish was born.  Our family prides itself on diverse cooking. Lunches consist of traditional South Indian rice, of course, but dinner is alw...

One first spoon, the taste of rice reminds me of the rice paddy fields that I always saw during the harvesting season.  The second spoon, the taste of ground pork, reminds me of my childhood, when I woke up early in the morning to go to the market with my nanny and was taught how to choose the most fresh-looking meat with the juiciest flavor. The Vietnamese traditional markets in my memory are so...

I am what people consider “the mom friend” of the group. I am that friend who carries food, water and sunscreen when we decide to go out. I worry a lot about people’s wellbeing, probably more than my own.  This explains why most of my favorite recipes are simple, something anyone can whip up within 20 minutes with simple ingredients. I am very blessed to have food and a safe place to live. ...

Every family has that one go-to meal they turn to when it’s 6:30 p.m. and there’s “nothing” in the fridge. There’s also that one dish that embodies comfort, childhood and cozy nights in. For my family, this soup noodle dish encapsulates them both.  For as long as I can remember, my mom has made these noodles for our family multiple nights a week. Maybe it is because of the sheer number...

My favorite food of all time is bread and raspberry jam. But not any old raspberry jam - homemade raspberry jam.  In my family, we make bread and jam from the comfort of our own home. This tradition of making jam has been passed down a couple of generations. My grandfather grew up in Malad, Idaho, where he and his family lived on their own farm and made almost everything from scratch. He grew up ...

Recently, my family made it a goal to eat healthier. Even as vegetarians, there are so many “unhealthy” junk foods that are available. Rather than cutting out all these types of foods, I wanted to make smaller, more sustainable changes to my lifestyle. Even before my diet changed to plant-based, I still was questioned as to how I would get enough protein in my diet. Yet, I believe that it i...