Jaymeson Maheux

            Have you ever heard the phrase that the best way to someone’s heart is through their stomach? If you have ever had a good experience with food or a meal you like you most likely would agree with that saying. There is no meal compared to a homemade dish, with the smells that cover the whole house, the clanking of the pans echoing off the walls, it is an experience you can’t get at any restaurant. Everybody has that one dish that they can eat when they’re happy, sad, or not even hungry. Some of my favorite meals that have a significant meaning to me are dinner meals and when I need to decide and pick one, I have a few to choose from. In this article I will be talking about one of my favorite meals that not only holds value to me but also tastes amazing, and to show that something as simple as a meal can mean an emotional significance to someone.

            When I think of homemade meals, I think of various dishes that would be prepared with love by my mother. Some dishes that are my favorite included: white rice with lentils and stew oxtail, spaghetti, and of course breakfast for dinner. When having many homemade meals, it becomes difficult for some people to just choose one, especially when they each give you a different type of feeling and different meaning of significance. The first meal I mentioned was stew oxtail over a plate of white rice and lentils, this meal is a cultural food in my household because the way it is prepared is the same way as it is prepared in the Caribbean. “I think you like it because it is a unique dish, the lentils make it healthy, and you like dishes with healthy elements.” Says my mother when asked why she thinks I like the meal. When this dish is being prepared the house fills with the aroma of seasoning salts and the sweet smell of oxtail. The dish in total takes around 3 hours total to complete, so you’ll be smelling that tasty aroma for quite a while as the stew oxtail takes around 3 hours, rice between 15-20 minutes, and lentils 40 minutes. Seeing this dish being made has gave me confidence to be able to make it, given the ingredients. This meal makes me feel happy when I eat it not only because it tastes phenomenal, but because it is unique and have not had it prepared like that anywhere else besides my home.

            Secondly, a meal that never gets old and can be eaten at any time and still feel like the appropriate time to eat it. The sizzling of the eggs when they first hit the pan that is coated in butter, and the smell of the French toast spreads through the house, enchanting all nostrils that can take in this smell. When it is an early morning and you are woken up by this smell, you know that your day is off to an amazing start or when you come home from a long day and you walk into the aromas and sounds, you know your day will end in a amazing way. This meal is simple, yet complex as it is breakfast. Whether it is breakfast for dinner or for lunch there are so many alternatives to prepare this meal depending on your lifestyle, diet, or what you prefer for a breakfast meal. When I have a breakfast dinner it is mostly always prepared by my mother and usually consists of eggs, French toast or pancakes, with a fruit of choice. The reason for this meal being so important is because it is a meal that I have grown up eating a lot and it always gave me the genuine home taste because it can be made in so many ways with different foods in it, but mine has not changed since the first time l had it. “It is my favorite meal because it is sweet, savory, and comfort food” That is the answer that I got when I interviewed my mom about this dish by asking if it was her favorite and why.

Lastly, a meal that most athletes can remember eating whether its before a big game/meet or if it’s just for having a it for the taste and enjoyment of the dish. This meal has many different recipes and can be interpreted a countless number of ways, yet the way that makes it feel right and taste more special is when it is coming from home. This meal is none other than spaghetti and meatballs, this dish is a meal very special to me because I would eat it before big football games and track meets. The feeling of excitement and anticipation would flow through me when I was to eat spaghetti and meatballs. This meal holds a significance to me as the rest do, but in a different way. This meal was not commonly made for just one person to partake, but for many people to indulge together. For football specifically, someone on the team would sometimes host a spaghetti night before games. These are nights that will bring the whole team together and regardless of the past losses or what we did wrong, we would just focus on the game we have the following day which was usually a Friday. (with some exceptions) And even when it is not a spaghetti night with the football team, when it is a spaghetti night with the family and friends, When my mom and grandparents make spaghetti and it would always bring family and friends together because whether they all liked each other or wanted to see everyone, there was one thing everyone there couldn’t wait to see, and most definitely liked. That thing was none other than the spaghetti. This spaghetti meal didn’t have too much of ingredients and I could follow it and make it, but it of course wouldn’t taste the same as the person making it longer than I’ve been alive. The noodles could be any type of spaghetti noodles (although I am not a big fan of angel hair spaghetti because it is very thin) with Ragu sauce with beef and a little bit of seasoning in it with some garlic bread so fresh that it melts the butter.

Food is something that we all need to survive and something that I believe that mostly everyone could agree with. Food having a significance and make connections with the people is proved in the essay, it shows how hard it is to choose one specific meal from my 19 years of life when a lot of them have memories behind it. I believe that a lot of people when asked about food at least 2 or more dishes will start rolling through their mind. It is good to take your food for thought and I believe that no matter what meal, no matter how little, or big it is, it can significantly impact someone positively, and that can be for anything not just foods.

RECIPE INGREDIENTS:

SEASONINGS/SPICES ARE SEASONED TO TASTE

• Oxtail (3 hours)
• White Rice (20 minutes)
• Lentils (40 minutes)
• Curry
• Onions 
• Garlic
• Chives
• Adobo Seasoning 
• Butter
• Parsley