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Family Traditions Through Food


Family recipes can help connect us to our relatives and family who came before us. These recipes are handed down through generations and change over time. They also help to remind us where we came from and what our families had to go through to get where we are today.


A recipe from Watauga High School student, Ben Gosky is the Peanut Butter and Brown Sugar Sandwich.


“My great-grandmother made it when she was parenting and kept it. It tastes very good and is original from the family so it's special,¨ said Gosky. ¨It is two pieces of bread, with brown sugar and peanut butter in the middle and that's IT!¨


Although this is simple it is very tasty and the perfect sweet snack.


A recipe from Katie Kriley, who is a WHS student whose family is originally from Maryland, is crab cakes.


“So you need freshly cooked crabs and pick all the meat out of them,” says Kriley. “Then get bread and pull the bread into small pieces, add eggs, add some seasoning and a bunch of old bay. After that you will put them in the fryer for a couple of minutes until they are golden brown. Finally pull them out and put some more old bay on them.”


This recipe is valuable because it tastes good but also supports family tradition.


¨The recipe came from my great grandmother and she wrote it,¨ said Kriley. ¨I like this recipe because it is our family favorite and we have it at every family event even during Christmas.¨


Family recipes can also carry many memories.


“My mom and grandmother taught me how to make it. I remember making it with all my aunts and we will sit around the table cracking crabs talking,” said Kriley. “My favorite memory is when it was at my cousin's graduation party and we made way too many and had to give them out to random people as a thank you for coming to the party.¨


A recipe from Dagan Newsome, a WHS student, is Asian dumplings.


¨I love this recipe because it reminds me of where my grandma is from. I have never been to Taiwan, but my grandma's dumplings remind me of part of my culture. Someday, I wish to visit Taiwan to see what my grandma's birthplace is like,¨ stated Newsome. ¨ We make them on Lunar New Year, but it isn't only a Lunar New Year thing. We make them all the time. It is important to make on Lunar New Year because it is a way we celebrate the New Year and our culture.¨


Like in Dagan’s family, many recipes are passed down through generations and they are used to connect many members of a family.


¨My Grandma taught me how to make them and my grandma, my sister, and I make them together all the time. Every time we make them, it is always fun. I remember my grandma used to buy us dumpling makers because my sister and I couldn't pinch the dumplings closed ourselves,¨ said Newsome. ¨My favorite memories are when my whole family ate dumplings together after we made them on Lunar New Year.¨


Recipes and food can carry so many emotions, and no matter where you go the memories that came with them will always be cherished. They are a great way to learn where you came from and to keep remnants of past generations.


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