My Russian Family Cuisine
In my life food has not only been an essential part but also a very unique part. Because my parents are Russian immigrants this has given me the privilege of experiencing a culture on the other side of the world. I have had the chance to experience a fantastic cuisine of foods some have never seen before, and being around the culture while being around the food puts things in perspective for me. At first I would glance at the extended family sitting around the dinner table, I began to listen and hear, watch and understand that my parents had grown up in a completely separate culture from me. I grew up in technological America where food was mainly just fuel, fast food restaurants on every corner, and people would buy boxed dinners at the grocery stores rather than cooking. For the longest time I would think to myself that there was nothing wrong with that, but as I got older I began to see a whole different aspect of food. I started to see how lucky I was to have my mother cook a different dinner for me every night, with food on the table that I had sometimes never seen until the day she made it. I started to marvel at my mother’s cooking and soon began to learn how to cook the food as well.
I feel that through my parents interesting food choice I have established my own cultural identity, seeing the entire world of food from a different light than most people get the chance to experience at any restaurant. The recipes they have all bear stories with them, and each story is another part of the Russian historical timeline. Learning to prepare these foods also taught me valuable lessons about life and about my family. Most of the recipes come from times in Russia when there was economic struggle and shortage of food, because of this they learned to adapt the minute amount of food they had into various recipes, over time the recipes became embedded in the Russian culture and most of the dishes they prepare today are based off of the simplistic meals they prepared while living in times of struggle.
I see myself in my parents when we eat dinner together because at those times when we sit around the dinner table and eat a fantastic entrée that my mom prepared in less than an hour I see why my parents look for me to achieve everything I hope for in life. Because of the way they grew up, and the limited opportunities they had in soviet Russia, they seek for me to live above that and live the way they do now in the United States, happy and not worried about having food on the table every night. We forget how lucky we are to have the opportunity to go to college and obtain a successful job that we don’t see the other side of life. Food makes us realize that we should be thankful for what we have and that we should always understand that it is a privilege to have a full meal on your table every night, and it is especially important when it comes to realizing that culture in food can open your eyes to a world that some people are blind to.
I feel that through my parents interesting food choice I have established my own cultural identity, seeing the entire world of food from a different light than most people get the chance to experience at any restaurant. The recipes they have all bear stories with them, and each story is another part of the Russian historical timeline. Learning to prepare these foods also taught me valuable lessons about life and about my family. Most of the recipes come from times in Russia when there was economic struggle and shortage of food, because of this they learned to adapt the minute amount of food they had into various recipes, over time the recipes became embedded in the Russian culture and most of the dishes they prepare today are based off of the simplistic meals they prepared while living in times of struggle.
I see myself in my parents when we eat dinner together because at those times when we sit around the dinner table and eat a fantastic entrée that my mom prepared in less than an hour I see why my parents look for me to achieve everything I hope for in life. Because of the way they grew up, and the limited opportunities they had in soviet Russia, they seek for me to live above that and live the way they do now in the United States, happy and not worried about having food on the table every night. We forget how lucky we are to have the opportunity to go to college and obtain a successful job that we don’t see the other side of life. Food makes us realize that we should be thankful for what we have and that we should always understand that it is a privilege to have a full meal on your table every night, and it is especially important when it comes to realizing that culture in food can open your eyes to a world that some people are blind to.