Love is so much more vast than a box of candy hearts can ever express. For many romantically driven individuals who are not currently in a head-over-heels love arc, Valentine’s Day falls flat.
Partnered romantic love is hard to find, and the way we frame the holiday can be a harsh reminder. But it doesn’t have to be! Let’s embrace the other true loves of life, starting with food.
Food nourishes our soul and our body. Food holds it down. Food deserves our devotion. Our ancestors worshiped wheat and dreamt of dairy, and we should, too.
So, to help us to re-train our hearts to truly and deeply love food, I have recorded several friends sharing their “love letters” to food. Feast your ears as they verbalize their devotion to their favorite meals, and the foods express their love back with sizzles, chops and beats.
Anya and Nelli Aslanova love: Varenyky
Varenyky (Ukrainian-style dumplings filled with potatoes, cheese, mushrooms and berries) are the taste of Anya’s childhood. She loves them because her mother, Nelli, made them with her mother (Anya’s babushka) when Anya was a child in the Soviet Union.
Their kitchen in Kyiv was tiny, but it was always full of loved ones eating their fill. Listen to the soundscape of Anya and Nelli rolling sour cherry varenyky by hand, then steaming them.
Minnie Montes and Rai Caraballo love: Bistec encebollado con arroz blanco y habichuelas
Minnie remembers the pressure cooker as the constant late-afternoon soundscape to her childhood in Puerto Rico. Her daughter, Rai, knows this sound as one of the songs her mother sings when she visits.
In this love letter, you’ll hear Minnie making food for her kids while she is visiting, the pressure cooker swooning us all as it tenderizes the bistec encebollado. Love in this family is tender, well-seasoned flank steak that you never have to gnaw.
Matt Lindgren loves: Spaghetti bolognese
Matt has loved spaghetti since childhood. For his birthday meal, he always requested that his mom make it. His recipe has adapted over time, shaped by his experiences and the environment around him, but his love for pasta and red sauce stays strong.
Hear Matt share his love for simmering bolognese by washing his hands methodically, chopping vegetables and pouring canned tomatoes.
Giselle Trujillo loves: Papitas de leche
Giselle loves the simplicity in papitas de leche, a favorite treat from growing up in Venezuela. It’s three ingredients (I can’t tell you the secret family recipe, but you might find something similar if you search online), no heat, and they are absolutely divine.
Going to the Venezuelan grocery store to get the ingredients is half the fun. Listen and hear drawers opening and closing rhythmically, cans opening creakily, and hands pat-pat-patting these cute little cookies.
Alex Hues loves: Carmelizing onions
A few years ago, Alex Hues was feeling postpartum depression and a good friend came over to make them a quiche. For this quiche, they caramelized some onions.
Alex says that this onion cooking felt like hours getting lost and feeling present, lifting them up in a way that was so loving. Now, they caramelize a few onions a week. In their well-loved cast iron skillet, onions cook on low and caramelize for hours and hours.
Listen here for onions being chopped, lots of good sizzles and some potatoes being steamed in their jackets.
These are just some of the love letters to food that I am starting to collect. If you would like to contribute to this initiative to memorialize this most pure of loves, please email me at clockworkmakesmusic@gmail.com. I will come over and cook some food with you and record the sounds.
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Clockwork Janz is a Mirror Indy freelance contributor. You can reach them at clockworkmakesmusic@gmail.com.
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