My favorite place is the kitchen. It’s the home of creativity and love– and more importantly, sustenance. At the end of the day, we all need to eat, and that food comes from somewhere.  

 

 

 

Cooking new recipes with friends, experimenting with different flavor combinations, and making up something healthy and filling using whatever is in the fridge and pantry are my favorite aspects of cooking. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cooking as a hobby is also about taking care of myself. As a college student, I’m responsible for making sure I’m fed- and I love good food, so I better throw together something that’s quick and delicious. Making sure I have an assortment of veggies, proteins, carbs, fruits, and fats on hand to whip up a meal when I need it is how I care for my long-term health. 

 

 

 

 

 

Whenever I cook, I usually don’t follow a recipe. My favorite cook book, the New York Times’ No Recipe Recipe Book, is simply composed of a list of necessary ingredients, a vague paragraph describing ways you can prepare the dish, and a picture of it. No measurements, just suggestions. Cooking is more about intuition and putting together a meal based on how you’re navigating the ingredients. 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course, the exception to that is preparing a new dish. Learning new flavor combinations and cooking technique comes from exploring new recipes (duh). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For me, my biggest love language is food. That’s something that started when I was young — my mom handing me a home cooked meal was her way of telling me “I love you.” At its core, food is about nourishment. “I made this for you, I want you to be healthy and full.” When I hand someone a bowl of food, it’s a gift.