They told us to stay home. And for many of us, the lucky ones, this is what we have done. But what is a home exactly? And where is your home? Is it the physical space where you are now or is it a memory of where you used to go in the past? Not all of us get to be home and the word can mean something different to everyone.
Pandemics have a way of putting things in perspective. Perhaps you are now wondering where your home really is. Or, at least, you are seeing where you live in a whole new light. There are aspects of my apartment (like my little backyard) that I have come to really appreciate and others (like that noise from the basement) that I am tired of. Suddenly, these walls that were my refuge from the bustling life of the big city have taken on a new role. And without the life beyond these walls to participate in, this home feels very different.
If you really want to find out about someone’s home, ask them about the food they love. So many of the dishes we love to eat are attached to a memory of a time we hold dear. We then call on these recipes when we want to feel at home even if that is not physically possible. Every immigrant group has used food to recreate home and have creatively combined the ingredients they could find in their new home with the recipes from before to create something new.
So what food reminds you of home? Is it your grandma’s recipe for lasagna, the soup you made for your wife when you first were married or your kids favorite breakfast? And how are you using food at this time to transport you out of your home when we can now only take these journeys through our meals.