For my family food have never been just meat and potatoes, but something to start a conversation with. Food has brought my family together especially food that has been passed down through out my family, creating a delicious tradition. Though most of the food we cook is no ordinary dish. Elsa Schiaparelli once said, “Eating is not merely a material pleasure. Eating well gives a spectacular joy to life and contributes immensely to goodwill and happy companionship. It is of great importance to the morale.” Food is not merely something we eat in my family, but is a time to bring together family and friends and create lasting memories.
My family has a long line of cooks. Ever since I can remember I’ve been cooking as well. My great-great grandfather really inspired the family to become interested in not only foods, but also unique meals. This belief still exist in my family because of my grandpa, anytime we get a chance a new meal is cooked up and tested out. Though food has become a huge part of my family, I also love the special events we serve the unique creations at. Three of our biggest family events where our unique dishes are served are Christmas Eve, the Culp family reunion, and Chinese New Year.
My favorite dish that has been passed down for generations on my dad’s side is called kidney stew. The recipe began with my great-great grandpa Kinsey, who passed it on to my grandpa Bedford. Bedford learned to make the recipe when he married my grandma Betty. The recipe quickly became a family favorite and he began serving it every Christmas morning. The stew is not a difficult recipe, in fact it’s quite easy. First the kidneys are cut up and the fat is trimmed off of the kidneys. Then they are placed in a large pot to soak in water, several times, and sprinkled with salt, as my Grandpa Bedford use to say, “Rinse um and squeeze the piss out of them.” After they have been rinsed several times, they are boiled and cooked, then to finish it all off with placing them into a homemade, thickened broth, and we always serve it over buttered toast and with a strip of bacon. This dish is no ordinary dish in fact most people are afraid to give it a try, but I can’t help but love the taste.
However, the creation of the stew is not my favorite part, but when it’s served is what really makes the dish complete. For about twenty years kidney stew has been served at our Christmas Eve party and all our family reunions. My dad always hosts a Christmas Eve party where are entire family comes together. The first time I can remember the stew being made was when I was about five years old. As any little girl I was excited to wake up on December 24, but the moment I woke I smelled this awful stink, flowing through the halls of our house. As I ran downstairs to find out what died in our house the smell began to get stronger. Finally I reached the warm, yellow kitchen to find a big, metal pot. As I opened it I found the thing responsible for the smell. My dad just laughed and told me that come time I would want to try the kidney stew.
That evening I watched as everyone ate the stew and I couldn’t even imagine eating what was creating the stench that flowed through the house.
However, I finally decide to try the stew when I was about fifteen years old at our family reunion, which is where the tradition of serving the stew really began. Each year my dad’s or one of his three brothers hosts our Culp family reunion. The reunion either happens here in Indiana or back where my dad grew up in Michigan. Each year at the reunion my family shares stories of my grandpa Bedford and grandma Betty. I never met my grandma and only knew Bedford for a very short time. One thing I bring up every year is going to Michigan for the very first time and visiting my grandparent’s lake cabin. I remember the cabin sat back in the deep Michigan woods, and was surrounded by water and big, oak trees. It smelled like cedar when you opened the door. Though kidney stew is somewhat out of the ordinary for people outside of my family, I love telling others about this family meal. It’s remembering and enjoying time together that makes cooking the food worth so much.
Though kidney stew is one of my favorite dishes from my dad’s family, nothing compares to my mom’s cooking. Though my favorite dish she makes hasn’t been passed down from generations, it has sparked quite a few conversations. Fifteen years ago my mom found a recipe for a layered salad, which included broccoli, peas, carrots, onions and a special dressing. This not so ordinary salad made its premier at the family reunion, and was given its name stinky salad, though the salad has a sweet smell rather than a stinky smell. People kept asking her to bring it to parties and it just became a tradition to serve at her annual girlfriend party and at our Christmas Eve party.
Stinky salad is ultimately one of my favorite dishes my mom makes, but when I think about stinky salad I always think about my mom’s annual girlfriend party. Each year my mom and her high school friends all come together with their husbands and children to celebrate a new year. Each year my mother brings her stinky salad and it is always the hit of the party. Though the girlfriend party is not the only time we have stinky salad, we also enjoy it each year around Christmas and now that I’m college I request a bowl to bring back to school.
One of the most unique traditions we have as a family is celebrating the Chinese New Year. My little sister, Chelsea, was adopted from Changsha, China when I was five years old. She arrived at the Indianapolis airport on a warm spring day. My grandparents, cousin, aunt, friends all gathered at the airport gate to greet my new sister. As soon as she arrived we returned home to enjoy a homemade, traditional Chinese meal. The meal included white rice, egg rolls, fried rice, and various traditional noodles. Ever since that day we have enjoyed each year on Chinese New Year as a family we celebrate my little sister’s heritage. Though the cuisine changes and grows each year and Chelsea even cooks a lot of the Chinese dishes for us, the purpose for the celebration remains the same. This tradition differs from the rest because it helps my sister understand that though she was adopted she can still celebrate and learn more about her culture, and she can do so with her family.
When you think of food what do you usually think of? Maybe a casserole or a hamburger, but I think of so much more. Food is memories I’ve made with family and friends and will continue to make through the years. Even now I have so many wonderful opportunities to celebrate the past and the future with celebrations through food. Food is not merely something you eat when you’re enjoying it with family.
