Love Kitchen

People come together in love. Love makes and does good for others. This is universal, whomever you are, wherever you are… People & Love go together. That truth inspired this project.

When cooking, I often think of my mother, Guadalupe. She crossed the desert from Oaxaca, Mexico and met my father picking tomatoes in Florida. They had grown up in the same little town and here they had my sister and I. When my father left she worked hard for us and all the many things that go into raising children. Growing up, I remember warm summers outside with Ice Pops and Hibiscus juice, hearty plates of rice, beans, and stews with homemade tortillas. Our cold winters meant eating alphabet tomato soup. When there wasn’t much for meat, she’d pull apart tortillas and add it to our bowls. They would soak up the warm broth and keep us full.

On special occasions she would make Sopa de Albondigas - meatball soup. She would combine beef, left over rice with battered egg and use the egg shells to form the meat balls. This became my favorite and best with potatoes and soggy tortillas. To this day nothing compares. When we wanted a snack before bed, a glass of milk was poured before us and a kiss planted on our foreheads. As she’d leaned in she always smelled lovely despite cleaning her day off from tomato picking. She didn’t always have a way with words and with no support from family, kept mostly to herself. Nowadays, I see the weight she carried and the love she had for us. Always pushing herself forward despite raising three children alone for many years. She is now happily married, with 5 children and so far - one grandchild. She loves the Lord, is a faithful church goer and runs businesses with her husband, Carlos. If you ask me, I don’t think she ever imagined being happy as she is now. They created a family and in this family, we do good unto others. We share the little, the all and always give our best. Growing up with working parents meant working children too. Before my mom started cleaning and painting homes, she would sell food from home. She chose me to wake up with her at 4 in the morning to help her make all these plates of breakfast, lunch and sometimes dinner for 5 - 8 men, 5 - 6 days a week. Every week was a different menu and lots of washing dishes but I learned to love these mornings. She would listen to worship music and I loved singing with her. Years later, my parents would start their painting and cleaning business, she chose me to go work with her. I didn’t enjoy it at first but my favorite moment was lunchtime. I got close to my mom over the years sharing food and thoughts. When they were able to bring other people in for work, I witnessed my mom pray and share the food she had, and in the mornings sometimes pack a little extra in case someone didn’t bring any or very little. Many years of work later, my parents continue to share their meals and it’s become tradition, leading others to share from their plates, also. Every lunch time felt like a family meal and looking back my memory is filled with stories, laughs and smiles shared over good food. This stirred in me a passion for cooking and serving others. 

I don’t live with my parents anymore but my mother’s example of love stays with me. It pushes me forwards and because of this, I believe that above all, let all you do be done in love. 1 Corinthians 16:14