Food for Thought

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I think everyone most associates certain cultures through food selection, and not wrongfully so. Being half Chinese, and half British-Caucasian, I have grown up with food culture all of my life. My father passed on a love of rice and hot sauce to his children; and my mum, the adoration for a good British spread of Yorkshire Puddings, roast beef, and English trifle. Food made me realize very early on my own cultural differences from those of my friends whom parents were born and raised in Canada, and their parents as well. In fact, until I was a young  tween, as they say, I thought curry dip and cold sausages were a normal spread for a 7-year-old’s birthday party… it took me a while to figure out otherwise!

We never had dinner buns, nor biscuits at the table, and pies very rarely. In England, we would always go out for traditional dim sum with the family, and indulge in my aunties’ food – beyond amazing from any Chinese restaurant you have ever been seated at. Yes, my family has been raised within a culture of food from both my mum’s and dad’s backgrounds.

Here in North America, we associate everything with food. Food can either excite someone to try something new, or shy you away from ever experiencing new spices – but either way, we all have memories in which food was the main subject matter for a reminiscent experience. I bring all of this up due to an article I read in NPR’s online edition a couple of days ago, titled Learning Who You Are Through What You Eat. The author, Michele Kayal, discusses her memories through food, as she now passes the traditions onto her daughter. And best of yet, the article includes a list of recipes as you scroll down the page, from baklava, to meat pies, and hummus -oh my!

This article was a light-hearted read, however made me reminiscent of how food affected my family. Even still, I live my day-to-day life on the food lessons that I grew up on and am so thankful for.
I mean, to this day, I will still choose my curry dip over this “ranch” dressing that everyone seems so keen on! 🙂

Check out our Food page for a listing of new found recipes from this article and more!

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