Food

As everybody is heading home for the upcoming holiday and will be getting together with family and friends to celebrate I couldn’t help but think about how big a role food has in our lives and how important a medium it is. I come from a unique background, my mother was born and raised in Mexico and moved to the United States when she was 13 years old, making me half Mexican. Most people don’t really know this about me as it certainly is not obvious but if you ever came to my house or came to my family’s Thanksgiving dinner this would quickly become apparent. Most families start the Thanksgiving meal with a traditional appetizer such as salad or pumpkin dip with gingerbread or any other traditional American appetizer. However, at my house we have an extremely unique appetizer and our Thanksgiving would not be the same without it. Every year we start Thanksgiving with a traditional Mexican Tortilla soup served with cilantro, avocado and tortillas. This is everyone’s most favorite dish and often people leave asking to take home the leftovers. We have had several friends come to our Thanksgiving dinner and every time they have been amazed by this dish and often really enjoy it.

                To my family, especially my mom, this dish is a reminder of her heritage and her home and it is a way for us to celebrate our Mexican heritage on this very American holiday.  It is also a way for our family to show our friends where we came from. I am sure that we are not the only family with a unique holiday dish, but I think if you stop to think about the different courses served at Thanksgiving you will see that each of them is sending a different message. Food is often used to in times of celebration and can say a lot of different things. Recipes are passed from generation to generation in an effort to maintain a message over the years. It is an extremely useful way to get a message across and often times leaves you very satisfied.