Food has been an integral part of most people’s lives. If you ask someone anywhere you will most likely find that they have certain food cravings and  a relationship with a specific food. The reasons for this may vary; for some it might just be because of the taste of the food and that’s their reason for loving the meal so much. For others, it may be due to the nostalgia a food gives, . iIt may remind you of a certain place or time in your life that brings comfort to you. One source of nostalgia is taste, which is one of the primary human senses. It is one of our primary ways of survival, as well as smell, which in some cases is connected to happy memories. Cooking homemade meals has been a human tradition for hundreds of years and will probably continue to be for the foreseeable future. In Michael Pollan’s New York Times essay, “Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch”, he describes the innovation of learning how to use fire to cook, suggesting it “[…] has done the most to advance the cause of civilization” (Pollan 16). Whether you agree with Pollan’s take or not you have to admit that cooking has advanced society in many ways,. This includes` being able to prepare food more efficiently, as well as making the food we eat much more safe and minimizing risks of food-related illness. With that being said, one wonders if people long for the result of cooking, or if they long for the process and the people and environment involved? As the taste of these meals are usually phenomenal, in my opinion the people around the meal itself involved in the preparation and the indulging of food at the end are just as if not more important than the food itself.  In our English class this semester, we were tasked to write an essay about our favorite homemade meal. I decided to write about my mother’s steak sandwich. The steak sandwich is made with a ribeye steak, brioche bun, arugula, caramelized mushrooms and onions, and finished with creamy horseradish. The sandwich taste wise is amazing, don’t get me wrong, but it means much more to me than just a meal. It reminds me of my home, as well as my wonderful mother. Now, everytime I go home, one of the first meals that my mother offers to make for me is the sandwich. She knows I love it and it’s her little way of welcoming me back after coming home from school, which at times is extremely stressful. One of the patterns of other people’s favorite meal essays written in that class historically has been tied to a certain human being, more particularly a family member. One of the most powerful ways humans have expressed gratitude toward family as well as peers has been through food, and through the hard preparation of cooking, it shows that you care enough for a person to sacrifice time out of your day to help quench that person’s hunger.

As the world continues to evolve, everything is getting faster and faster, leading to less time to do things such as prepare food. Well, it would be unreasonable to think that people can consistently make homemade meals from scratch three times a day for seven days a week due to time. However, there should definitely still be a few homemade meals stitched into your week. Through homemade meals there is so much camaraderie to be had with your family and friends through the cooking process, as well as sitting down together all around a table and enjoying the final product. One thing that was discussed in the Pollen essay  “Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch”, was when it discussed women’s historical role in the cooking process saying “It’s generally assumed that the entrance of women into the workforce is responsible for the collapse of home cooking”. I can obviously see why this plays a role in how home cooked meals have diminished over the years, but for me this hasn’t been the case. My mother has worked a 9-5 job since the day I was born. She always found a way to make sure we were fed., yesYes, occasionally after a busy stressful day she would get takeout for us because she physically and mentally didn’t have the capacity to cook after a long dreadful day. With that being said, more times than not she still would suck it up for my brother and I and figure out a way to get us a meal. Now that I’m older and have had some time to mature, I honestly can’t put into words how impressive it was of her and admirable that she sacrificed so much for her children, even with her own career. Looking back on it now, it really was selfless of her to still be able to prepare a meal for us, a good tasting one at that, while all the things at work and other things are at stake. This is something I’ll forever be thankful for. 

My fellow classmate Jack Hamil wrote his favorite meal essay previously in the semester just like myself about a dish that his mother makes for him. In his case, it was about her mac N cheese. He also talked about this meal as a symbolism for home. Jack is from my town, but he attended a boarding school about an hour and a half away up north. In my favorite meal essay I stated “This is my go to meal every time I get to go home; it probably will be as long as my mother and I are on the planet together.This is my go to meal every time I get to go home; it probably will be as long as my mother and I are on the planet together”.Something unique about food is it isn’t just it’s face value. It’s not just the presentation of food as well as the taste that makes food comfortable. It’s the memories as well as the people around the food that’s most important. My mothers steak sandwich is amazing, I’m sure Jack’s mother’s Mac N Cheese hits the spot as well. But for me biting into the steak sandwich is one of the more comfortable feelings there is. The feeling of comfort and familiarity when indulging in this meal makes you feel safe and secure, and you know you are home. Through examining what Jack had to say in his paper I’m sure he would agree with me as well.