Food is more than just something you eat in order to nourish your body and a meal is more than just time spent around a table in order to surpass time. Sharing a meal with your loved ones can be a really special time where you can make long-lasting memories. You may not know it at the time, but that one special meal can mean the world to the ones sharing it with you. According to Erin Leonard, her mom’s apple pie was an important staple in her life and was able to get her through the tough times.
“I would say this dessert brought not only my friends together but also my family. It brought us joy even in hard or happy times and distracted us from reality for a while and we could just sit and eat some apple pie. And I think everyone appreciated that about the apple pie. Something as simple as an apple pie can make life just a little easier for a moment” (Erin Leonard).
For Erin, apple pie was something her mom made quite often growing up for her, her sister and her dad, but once her parents split up she no longer made it as much. So now when she makes that special pie it brings them back to those times back when they were all one big happy family. Erin wasn’t the only one that had a favorite meal that brought others comfort and joy. According to Maddie Shaw, her dad made a special mac and cheese with her and her brother growing up that had great importance to her family.
“Moving to Maine brought experiences into my life that I never would have been able to go through if we stayed in Maryland, the enjoyment and delight of making the mac and cheese dish is one of these. The savory flavors that are all wrapped into a single bite, the creamy and crunchy textures working together for the ideal texture, and the memories that come along with it. This meal is something that I share with my entire family and we all have positive memories that go along with it” (Maddie Shaw).
For Maddie, when she was younger her family made a move to Maine and while she, her brother and her mom lived there full time, her dad had to commute back and forth to Maryland for work so he only spent the weekends with them. This was hard on them, but something that made it worthwhile was that when their dad came home to them they would make their special mac and cheese together. I think that this is so special because both Erin and Maddie have special connections with their favorite meals and I think that it’s a great example of why cooking and sharing meals with your loved ones is so important.
