Food is one of those things you
literally cannot live without. Growing up my family had an Albanian diet and
would not have dinners. My mom would always say “ I’m responsible for two
meals, after that I‘m off duty.” We would have a small breakfast in the morning
and lunch would be the biggest meal of our day. We usually ate it at 2 o’clock
and it would be all we would eat that day unless we made small snacks later. My
mom would cook something everyday for our family and it would always be
accompanied with a fresh garden salad, homemade baked bread and a side plate of
feta cheese. She would make things ranging from spinach pies to stuffed hot
peppers and although I didn’t really appreciate it when I was growing up, I go
home now and beg my mom to cook me some traditional dishes.
Eating out was something my family
did very rarely; I’m talking 2 or 3 times a year max. However, as my two and me
younger brothers got older we began to visit fast food restaurants more
frequently. I remember our parents
always yelling about how stupid it was to spend money on the “garbage you can
find in the streets” but of course we didn’t care. There’s just something so
perfect about French fries that nobody can resist.
Since I was 16 my jobs have been
in the food industry 9 out of 10 times. I’ve worked in many different kinds of
food services, ranging from fast food, to fine dining. My first job was in fast
food and my most recent job was as a server. According to this fact book, one
half of Americans will work In a restaurant at some point in their lives, that
is so crazy to think about. Food is giving hundreds of thousands of people
jobs, which is pretty cool I guess, although I doubt they’re jobs you’d want to
make careers out of.
Food has played different roles
throughout my life and I don’t see it stopping anytime soon. I don’t know what
I would do without food, but I’m also glad I never have to find out. I’m
interested to see what I will learn this semester about food because of this class, and whether it will be good or bad things.
Your food culture sounds interesting, I am not familiar with Albanian culture.
ReplyDeleteThat is crazy that your family only ate out 2-3 times a year, I can't even imagine that. In my family we go out to eat all the time like for family Birthday's and what not.
ReplyDeleteI love feta cheese. Good for your parents for not getting you guys hooked on fast food at an early age... of course, it's too good not to resist it completely. More parents need to consider that kind of lifestyle! Going out to eat should be a special occasion... not a daily necessity.
ReplyDeleteThat is amazing that your mom cooked every day for you guys! Every time I visit my aunt in Colorado, she is always cooking for every meal. It is a nice treat, I will agree with you. I too have worked in the food industry since I have been 16, which makes staying away from those fries and "quick meals" hard to do ha. I am not familiar with the Albanian culture itself, if you could share with the class some interesting foods that would be awesome!
ReplyDeleteThe diet your family eats sounds delicious! Working so much in food service must really make you appreciate it!
ReplyDeleteSounds terrific that your parents were so strong in maintaining Albanian culture, though I know that sometimes that culture clash can be hard on the kids!
ReplyDeleteI am intrigued by the statistic and link that half of Americans will work in the food industry. Wow!
I hope your preserve your culture, it sounds so interesting and tasty. Unfortunately from what I have read food cultures are often not preserved in second or third generation immigrants.
ReplyDeleteThat food sounds really good. I didn't know that that many people work in the food industry. But it doesn't really surprise me since food is so important and such a big deal in our society.
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