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Curly tomato pasta Photo courtesy of NOA LEHRER
EAT
To some, food is simply sustenance, but to others, it's a way to connect with people. Text by KAILEE CORRELL, ZANDER DARBY & ASHLEY GUO • DESIGN BY ASHLEY GUO
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hat makes a dish special? Is it the ingredients? The aesthetic? With more time on their hands, people are beginning to find joy in home cooking. But many have been showing off their dishes and cooking skills since before the COVID-19 shelter-in-place regulations. Whether they cook to eat, to perfect an art or to simply enjoy a fun hobby, Paly students and talented chefs show that cooking is for everyone. To senior Jackson Druker, cooking was a way for him to learn a new skill while he was recovering from an injury. In 2015, Druker broke the growth plate in his femur; unable to do any athletic activities, he turned to cooking in order to stay healthy. Through learning and improving his cooking, Druker not only has produced delicious food, but he also learned some valuable new skills. “Cooking has helped me learn a lot about how to be patient and be careful not to overwhelm any one flavor because it can ruin a dish,” Druker said. He also finds that
he saves on a lot of costs by making his own meals. “Considering my intake, it’s usually less expensive to cook for myself than to eat out.” Rather than being carefully planned or calculated, cooking is a very spontaneous activity for Druker. While others get lost in the measurements or obscure ingredients, Druker shows how true cooking is about working with what you have. “I usually don’t have a plan; with the years of experience, I think of a specific meat or vegetable and build a meal around it,” Druker said. “If we have a lot of something at home, it’s usually going to end up being the central part of the meal.” To Druker, cooking does not have to be a solo activity. Druker loves cooking with friends and family. After all, the more the merrier. “I like to cook and integrate my friends into the process to show them how fun cooking can be,” Druker said. “My favorite things to cook with friends are cookies and burgers, and they always come out great!”
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