A Little Taste of My Life

My name is Anabel and senior year of high school I was voted most likely seen eating and most often heard chewing. I love food and eating and everything else that comes along with it; perhaps this is why my nickname has always been Belly or Bellybutton. I am from Connecticut and am the youngest of a very large, complicated family with one very delicious common interest: food. Just to give you a little taste of my life, I have 2 full sisters, 2 half sisters, 1 half brother, 3 step sisters, 1 step brother, a mom, a dad, a stepmom, and a stepdad. If addition isn't your thing, this adds up to 9 siblings and 4 parents. I am the baby. My mom and her 5 oldest children (me excluded) are incredible chefs. Some of them professionally trained and others naturally brilliant in their culinary skills. When you are the youngest, your family tends to take care of you by default. Therefore, I mostly just do the eating. Since I have yet to hit my cooking stride and am used to being told what to do by my older siblings, I have mastered the art of being a sous-chef, even though my overprotective sisters still get nervous when I use knives.

Food, and the process of cooking, is the religion I would consider myself to be a believer in. I was not brought up practicing any organized religions, but I was brought up on the ritual of family time in the kitchen. Our holidays and family gatherings (even just dropping by for lunch) are always planned around meals and who will be the chef in charge (of that particular meal). Our excitement for new dishes (and new cravings) often influences the days’ activities in each of our houses. For example, this summer I nannied for my twin nephews, and my sister and I often planned out what we would cook each day during the kid's naptime. We were either planning what we ourselves would eat or what little dishes we would make for the kids to taste test in order to see what they liked and didn't like. Our creativity was only limited by what kinds of vegetables were ready for the picking that day in my sister's garden. A lot of our summer recipes came from my summer read: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. And let me tell you, they are two very well-fed little boys!

My personal and academic interests have been greatly influenced by my love for food. I am an Environmental Studies Health and Policy major with an interest in how different foods and their quality affect the health of populations. I plan on focusing on how they are grown and that could be connected to people’s nutrition. I am interested in taking my personal love for food and looking at it from a bigger perspective. Possibly a perspective that will have a greater reach then the inside of my "belly."

We also enjoy a little encouragement when we cook/eat...

photo credit: 1st picture: my mom, 2nd picture: me
video from YouTube