Memories told through Food and the Art of Cooking

A look into some of my fondest memories in Mallorca, Spain, where I developed a profound appreciation for cooking and the importance of healthy eating.

My love of healthy food and cooking began long before I ever experimented in the kitchen myself. It was my upbringing in Madrid, Spain and the summers I would spend with family on the island of Mallorca that fueled my growing passion for the art of cooking.

I would watch as my dad prepared a paella from scratch; cutting up the red peppers, onions, tomato, zucchini, adding peas and green beans until just tender, watching the rice crisp over the wide and shallow pan that lay over our wood-fired grill.

I observed the elderly people at the farmers markets carefully pick from piles of fresh, ripe tomatoes picked from a nearby farm, one Euro in exchange for a smile and a Kilo of tomatoes perfect for making the best gazpacho.

I listened and watched as my dad pointed to the almond and fig trees, scattered across the clay-colored earth in Mallorca. He would lift me up to pick figs from the trees and we would eat them right there, the sweet and sticky taste that stayed on my tongue is a memory engrained in my mind.

Casa Catalina

I looked forward every year to the trip we took to Casa Catalina, a nearby farm owned by an elderly couple, and that we’ve gone to every summer since I can remember. I realized on our many trips to Casa Catalina that it wasn’t just the fresh produce and cheap prices that brought us back year after year.

It was the smile on the old man’s face as he took us to see the fruits and vegetables that were growing, the pride and sense of accomplishment he felt, the joy of giving, the power of food to unite. It was the excitement of walking away with pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables, picked right from that farm, the realization that this is what healthy living should look like everywhere. That access to healthy and affordable food should be commonplace. That every person, regardless of their wealth has a right to a long and healthy life.

Growing up in a culture that values fresh, natural, and healthy ingredients as well as the art of turning those ingredients into memorable dishes, I too wanted to be a part of making this a reality everywhere.

It was the three years my family spent living in Birmingham, Alabama that made me more aware than ever that this appreciation for food and its vital role in social, emotional, and physical realms was lost in our American culture that has replaced whole foods with fast food, factory farming, processed ingredients, and harmful pesticides.

While my third grade friends were bringing pre-packaged “Uncrustables” peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to lunch, I was eating home cooked meals that I was used to growing up in Spain.

This frustration of living in a society that lacked this concept of healthy eating prompted me to discover my love of cooking. As I got older, I learned to make many of the same traditional dishes I grew up with. I watched the Food Network Channel and paid close attention to how the chefs turned their basket of mismatched ingredients into a mouth-watering dish. My favorite Christmas presents were cookbooks and new kitchen gadgets.

Alongside my love of cooking, I was fascinated by the science of nutrition and the biochemical reactions that took place in the body.

A year into college I realized that I wanted to find a way to combine my passion for cooking and nutrition into a career that helped others learn not only about the foods that constitute a healthy diet, but also how to use those foods to make something delicious and nourishing, without spending hours in the kitchen. Because one thing I’ve come to learn is that the only way to begin valuing healthy, whole ingredients in a culture like ours is to teach others how to use them to make meals that they will look forward to eating.

We live in a society where people crave hamburgers and french fries, not a homemade stew or fresh piece of fruit.

As a future dietitian, I want to be a part of creating a culture that learns to appreciate healthy living and work to make this lifestyle available to all. My hope is that through cooking I can teach others that healthy food is worth craving.