Cocinas Sanas serving up Albondigas

On November 3, fourteen people sat down to share a meal. All evening the room had been filled with the sounds of children playing games and women telling stories of their traditions and memories of food.
The smells, sounds and textures of a meal can evoke so many memories: when was the last time you ate this meal and with whom did you share it? While we chopped fresh herbs and vegetables, the women recounted their stories of who had taught them to cook and memories of learning to cook through trial and error.   One woman laughed telling the story of how her grandmother would shoo anyone away from the kitchen who was in a bad mood, stating that your grumpy attitude or “mala onda” would spoil the tamales. Throughout the room the laughter of the children playing making cookies could be heard. As the women prepared a traditional meal, albóndigas (a type of meat ball); the next generation created traditions of their own, shaping  a modified recipe of traditional Mexican Wedding cookies into faces with raisins for eyes, noses and Mohawk hair styles.
While the soup boiled the ladies sat and discussed the mission of the “Cocinas Sanas (Healthy Kitchens)” project: to maintain the knowledge of how to prepare traditional foods and sustain the health of the community. We hope to achieve this through collective cooking events such as this. The consensus among the woman was that as time passes people can begin to lose their traditions and memories, food available in the United States is less fresh and eating habits begin to change, which can lead to many health problems.  It is through arts of storytelling and cooking that we can preserve these traditions and memories of our grandmothers, mothers, aunts and all the women who have shaped our histories.
Each participant was asked to give feedback, share how she would like to see the mission carried out and how she herself would be able to further develop the project. It was interesting to hear that each woman had a slightly different recipe and way to prepare the meal. We are excited to continue a dialogue about traditional foods as the women share their stories and recipes. One woman remembered having large meals at her grandmother’s house, with all of the extended family present. She said “those are some of my fondest memories, and I know that my best memories will be sharing meals with my own children.”
Perhaps tonight we made a few new traditions as well as memories.  The next time I smell a waft of boiling potatoes, oregano, mint and onions, I will remember this night and the new relationships and traditions made.