Gerber or Thai Food?
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I was born in the heart of Houston, the Texas Medical Center. A place well known for their variety of foods that are quick and on the go for the countless number of doctors and patients who are on a schedule. During infancy, nothing exciting really happened, I’m assuming because I really cannot remember. Just milk 24/7. And then one day, my parents fed me the most amazing thing I had ever tasted. And that, I do remember. Gerber baby food.
Around the time Gerber came around in my life, (when I was one and a half years old), I also got a new sister. A baby sister who I could play with, grow up with, and also who’s Gerber baby food I could steal. That is true. According to my mother, I would pretend to feed my tiny baby sister and in the end, I would run away with her little tub of Gerber. I was obsessed. It was the best thing ever. And then I was three years old which meant it was time to start school. I don’t remember much from that period of my life except for the fact that my school was two minutes away from my house and I could come home for lunch. I never understood how one sandwich and a bag of chips could satisfy you and fill you up. My mother prepared two fresh meals every. Single. Day. Rice, lentils, bread, a whole differnet assortments of meats and curries, deserts… the list can go on and on. My family was never the type to eat out. It was a rare event where the seven of us went out to a nice restaurant and had lunch. It probably happened once a year. And fast food? Let’s just I have never had Burger King, Wendy’s, Chik-fil-a, Taco Bell... etc. My parents were never really believers of fast food. Why spend money and go out to eat when you can have whatever you want right at home, freshly made and to your own liking? Meal time was a special time for us as well. It meant family time. So back to school. I was now in third grade and it was the first time my mom actually had to pack me a lunch. My new school was too far from home for me to go and enjoy a nice lunch. I still remember the first time I opened my lunch box and found a PB&J sandwich, two zebra cakes, and one CapriSun. Boy, was I wrong about packed lunches not being able to fill you up. And the zebra cakes? They technically became my new Gerber. By the time I reached middle school, lunch time became library time. Instead of going to the cafeteria with the rest of the students, I would end up in the school library where I stayed and read for the entirety of lunch. One day, I stumbled across a cook book and I opened it up. The different recipes sparked my interest and I checked it out to take it home. The first recipe I made from the book was a recipe for lemon bars. It turned out to be the best thing ever. I loved and enjoyed every single second of the process. The whole thing from start to finish and seeing the end product was the best feeling ever. From that day on, my love for cooking and baking grew every day. Through middle school and high school, I learned hundreds and hundreds of recipes either from my mom, my friends moms, culinary classes, recipe books, YouTube videos, or just making them up on my own. It became a passion and a hobby of mine. Spending time in the kitchen surrounded by the aroma of dishes I made, seeing the appreciation on my family and friends faces as they ate the food I made, all of it just made the whole aspect of cooking extremely enjoyable. Then in 2012, my family and I planned a trip India. It was my first time ever. I remember feeling super excited about the places we’d go, the things we’d see, the foods we’d eat. I watched vloggers who posted about their food experiences and videos about Indian street food. I was ready. So we boarded our flight and reached New Delhi. And then we reached our hotel. Within that time, my body reacted severely to the new environment. The entire one and a half months I was there, I ate was packaged foods and drank bottled water. So back to Houston we came and in my senior year of High school, my sbilings and I planned a one week trip to Chicago. It was the most exciting thing I had ever planned (considering the trip to India was such a disappointment). We based the entire trip on food. Since two of my brothers lived there at the time, they already had knowledge of where to go and what to do and what to eat. We started off in Chicago at the infamous Giordano’s. The best deep dish pizza in the world. One tiny slice and I was full for the rest of the day. Day number two, we spent touring around. This is the day I found my beloved Thai restaurant. My siblings and I spent about three hours there eating and talking. It was the most enjoyable meal I can remember. The rest of our time in Chicago was spent visiting small cafes and experiencing as many foods from different cultures as we could. After graduation, college stole away my freedom to bake and cook, to go out and travel and my food life came to a standstill. Nothing interesting happened. But coming this year with the amount of trips I have in mind, all that is to hopefully change. |