COMIDA CON CAUSA
For the Spanish part of the project we focused more on learning authentic recipes. The first recipe we did was a family recipe. We interviewed a family member about a special family recipe, then wrote a reflection on our findings, practiced making the recipe, and finally created two drafts of a video tutorial where we practiced our Spanish. After showcasing our video and recipe we moved on to the next part of the project where in a small group of three we choose a Latin American Country and learned a recipe from a cook from that country. Our group chose Cuba and we interviewed a Cuban cook named Daniel from Andres Restaurant in Spanish.
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From that interview we got a short recipe from him, our recipe was Fried Plantains. We then wrote a reflection on what we learned from the interview and practiced making our dish. We wrote out our dishes recipe in Spanish and in our group split up the lines and memorized them. We also made a short tasty video showing how to make the dish . Then for the rest of the semester we practiced making the dish, saying our lines, and talking about what we learned from the interview from Daniel. Finally we presented and cooked our recipe for our families on exhibition.
Below is the work I did for the semester: |
Family Interview Reflection
6 de febrero
GROWING UP WITH COOKING
Last semester I visited my family in Nepal, there I saw my aunt again after almost five years. While there, I was able to learn a lot about my family and traditions but I didn't learn much about my aunt because she can only speak Nepali; therefore, it was hard to have full conversations with her. Conducting this interview, with my dad translating, I was able to learn about the way she lived when she was my age, how cooking is important to her, and what makes the recipe I am cooking special to her.
When my aunt was around 16, her day would start by waking up really early and doing housework. After, she would go to school, which lasted until noon, and then she would come home and do more housework. She would clean and cook until two in the afternoon when her sewing and printing class started. After the class she would come home and do more cleaning and cooking until bedtime and that was how her day ended. Growing up my dad went to boarding school so I heard lots of stories about school there but not much about how life was at my aunt’s home. Learning this was very interesting to me because I never grew up that way and it makes me understand how important cooking is to my aunt as this was a major part of her life sine the young age of 14.
My aunt learned how to cook from her mother and sister. She said cooking was easy for her to learn and she has enjoyed it ever since. In contrast, I only know the basics of cooking and I don't really enjoy it, so I found it interesting when she talked about that. To this day she still cooks a lot and enjoys making new recipes and trying new things. She mostly makes dinner and lunch foods. She likes to feed people her food and likes it when people enjoy what she has made. This was one of the reasons why she likes making the recipe I have chosen: rice pudding. Rice pudding is a dish that is found in Asia but mostly in India which is right next to Nepal. Even though my dads family isnt Indian it is still made in Nepal.
The recipe I chose was made when she was young but it did not taste very good. It wasn’t until she got married that she learned how to make an amazing rice pudding. She learned how to make the pudding from her mother-in-law and after a while she modified the recipe by adding condensed milk to make it taste better. Everyone loves her rice pudding which is one of the reasons she loves to make it. One thing I really like to do is bake and make desserts, which is why I choose this dish. Knowing that rice pudding is special to her makes me even more excited to make it, as it is something I have enjoyed, but have not made before.
As I make this recipe I can understand how cooking ties into our family. On my mom’s side, none of her family members cook very much but my dad’s side of the family is always cooking. While in Nepal, every time we went to someone's house we would eat. To me that really shows the tradition in Nepal even though they dont eat together whenever we came to visit family and friends we would eat. It shows how important food is there.The meals mostly are similar but every place you go to is different. Everyone has their own way of making the meal which makes each meal special. To me learning about this is special, not only because I like to learn about family history but also because I never learned much about my aunts life at home. My dad was in a boarding school from age six so most stories were about the boarding and not about my aunts life. It is also special to me to be able to have this recipe passed down. It had never been written down before and now it is which is makes it even more of a family recipe. Learning about what cooking means to my aunt was special to me and makes me ready to learn more family recipes in the future.
GROWING UP WITH COOKING
Last semester I visited my family in Nepal, there I saw my aunt again after almost five years. While there, I was able to learn a lot about my family and traditions but I didn't learn much about my aunt because she can only speak Nepali; therefore, it was hard to have full conversations with her. Conducting this interview, with my dad translating, I was able to learn about the way she lived when she was my age, how cooking is important to her, and what makes the recipe I am cooking special to her.
When my aunt was around 16, her day would start by waking up really early and doing housework. After, she would go to school, which lasted until noon, and then she would come home and do more housework. She would clean and cook until two in the afternoon when her sewing and printing class started. After the class she would come home and do more cleaning and cooking until bedtime and that was how her day ended. Growing up my dad went to boarding school so I heard lots of stories about school there but not much about how life was at my aunt’s home. Learning this was very interesting to me because I never grew up that way and it makes me understand how important cooking is to my aunt as this was a major part of her life sine the young age of 14.
My aunt learned how to cook from her mother and sister. She said cooking was easy for her to learn and she has enjoyed it ever since. In contrast, I only know the basics of cooking and I don't really enjoy it, so I found it interesting when she talked about that. To this day she still cooks a lot and enjoys making new recipes and trying new things. She mostly makes dinner and lunch foods. She likes to feed people her food and likes it when people enjoy what she has made. This was one of the reasons why she likes making the recipe I have chosen: rice pudding. Rice pudding is a dish that is found in Asia but mostly in India which is right next to Nepal. Even though my dads family isnt Indian it is still made in Nepal.
The recipe I chose was made when she was young but it did not taste very good. It wasn’t until she got married that she learned how to make an amazing rice pudding. She learned how to make the pudding from her mother-in-law and after a while she modified the recipe by adding condensed milk to make it taste better. Everyone loves her rice pudding which is one of the reasons she loves to make it. One thing I really like to do is bake and make desserts, which is why I choose this dish. Knowing that rice pudding is special to her makes me even more excited to make it, as it is something I have enjoyed, but have not made before.
As I make this recipe I can understand how cooking ties into our family. On my mom’s side, none of her family members cook very much but my dad’s side of the family is always cooking. While in Nepal, every time we went to someone's house we would eat. To me that really shows the tradition in Nepal even though they dont eat together whenever we came to visit family and friends we would eat. It shows how important food is there.The meals mostly are similar but every place you go to is different. Everyone has their own way of making the meal which makes each meal special. To me learning about this is special, not only because I like to learn about family history but also because I never learned much about my aunts life at home. My dad was in a boarding school from age six so most stories were about the boarding and not about my aunts life. It is also special to me to be able to have this recipe passed down. It had never been written down before and now it is which is makes it even more of a family recipe. Learning about what cooking means to my aunt was special to me and makes me ready to learn more family recipes in the future.
Cuban Interview Reflection
Since my group’s country is Cuba, we interviewed Daniel, who owns a Cuban and Puerto Rican restaurant with his brother. In this interview we learned about his childhood growing up and how he started cooking. First he talked about his favorite Cuban dish, rice with chicken. He liked this dish because it had a lot of flavor. He told us that when he was a kid it was served at almost every special occasion.
Daniel’s father had immigrated to the U.S. before he was born; therefore, he grew up in the U.S. but still his family surrounded him with Cuban culture. For example he talked about how family and food are important to his culture and people would come together to eat for many occasions. When he was ten or twelve he became interested in cooking. He talked about how he was motivated by the fact that once he left home his mom wouldn't be there to cook for him. His mom also wanted the boys in the family to be able to cook and do everything in the house so she supported him and taught him to cook. Though he started cooking when he was around 10, he said it wasn't till he was 25 or 26 that he became an expert.
We then asked if there was a simple dish from Cuba that he really enjoyed and he gave us the recipe for fried plantains. This dish is very simple as you only need to take ripe plantains and peel,cut and then fry them in vegetable oil. His mother taught him this dish but only once he was ten because this recipe involved hot oil and she didn't want him to burn himself. This dish also was served at every special occasion he had as a kid. After he grew up and had established his restaurant he added this dish to the menu and it has still been one of his favorites.
Learning about how important family and cooking is to him will make learning the recipe more meaningful to me. I am able to understand why this recipe is important to Daniel and why its one of his favorites. It tells a story of his family and the traditions that they brought over from Cuba.
This interview was also important because we were able to learn more about the traditions and culture of Cuba and what growing up surrounded by that culture was like. It tells a story of his family, coming from Cuba, it shows how important family and food is to them, and how cooking then became important to him. It talks about the political influences in Cuba and how they affected him, what he thought about them and how they affected his family. It then connects everything to a few recipes that he grew up with and are still a part of his life. The recipe we got and the interview findings all tell a story about just a small part of Cuba.
Daniel’s father had immigrated to the U.S. before he was born; therefore, he grew up in the U.S. but still his family surrounded him with Cuban culture. For example he talked about how family and food are important to his culture and people would come together to eat for many occasions. When he was ten or twelve he became interested in cooking. He talked about how he was motivated by the fact that once he left home his mom wouldn't be there to cook for him. His mom also wanted the boys in the family to be able to cook and do everything in the house so she supported him and taught him to cook. Though he started cooking when he was around 10, he said it wasn't till he was 25 or 26 that he became an expert.
We then asked if there was a simple dish from Cuba that he really enjoyed and he gave us the recipe for fried plantains. This dish is very simple as you only need to take ripe plantains and peel,cut and then fry them in vegetable oil. His mother taught him this dish but only once he was ten because this recipe involved hot oil and she didn't want him to burn himself. This dish also was served at every special occasion he had as a kid. After he grew up and had established his restaurant he added this dish to the menu and it has still been one of his favorites.
Learning about how important family and cooking is to him will make learning the recipe more meaningful to me. I am able to understand why this recipe is important to Daniel and why its one of his favorites. It tells a story of his family and the traditions that they brought over from Cuba.
This interview was also important because we were able to learn more about the traditions and culture of Cuba and what growing up surrounded by that culture was like. It tells a story of his family, coming from Cuba, it shows how important family and food is to them, and how cooking then became important to him. It talks about the political influences in Cuba and how they affected him, what he thought about them and how they affected his family. It then connects everything to a few recipes that he grew up with and are still a part of his life. The recipe we got and the interview findings all tell a story about just a small part of Cuba.