The older I have gotten, the more discerning I am about picking and choosing friends. I have to say that I usually like everyone, but true friends, the people that just get what I am saying without me having to explain, who know and love the best and worst of me, and mostly the people with who I can cry endlessly and laugh until my sides hurt, well those people are much harder to find. This weekend, three of my friends from high school came to visit me. After months of living in a new country around people that I may not always feel like myself around, this past weekend was a breath of fresh air. My sides are still hurting from the laughs, my head from the wine, and my heart after their departure. Between the goodbyes and the hellos, there was, as always, time to cook and eat.
My friend arrived Thursday night, after an eight hour train ride, and I knew that upon her arrival (it was her first time in Italy) she would be looking for a hearty Italian meal. I would even say that she got lucky because Thursday I had my last exam and nothing makes me unwind more than cooking. I made a creamy comforting Lasagne Bianche, or White Lasagne, layers of fresh lasagna noodles, with bechamel, caramelized leeks, and melted cheese.
When I cook for others, I feel as though I am offering a piece of myself, a glimpse at the passion and creativity that I hone when I am doing what I love. I truly believe that cooking for someone is sharing the greatest side of myself, the most honest, direct, true version of who I am and who I am becoming. The sides of myself that I am scared to confront and the characteristics that I like to flaunt, all come together in a single dish or meal. The true friends in life accept all of these, they take the good and the bad, and I, in turn, am beginning to have the courage to do the same.
My friend arrived Thursday night, after an eight hour train ride, and I knew that upon her arrival (it was her first time in Italy) she would be looking for a hearty Italian meal. I would even say that she got lucky because Thursday I had my last exam and nothing makes me unwind more than cooking. I made a creamy comforting Lasagne Bianche, or White Lasagne, layers of fresh lasagna noodles, with bechamel, caramelized leeks, and melted cheese.
When I cook for others, I feel as though I am offering a piece of myself, a glimpse at the passion and creativity that I hone when I am doing what I love. I truly believe that cooking for someone is sharing the greatest side of myself, the most honest, direct, true version of who I am and who I am becoming. The sides of myself that I am scared to confront and the characteristics that I like to flaunt, all come together in a single dish or meal. The true friends in life accept all of these, they take the good and the bad, and I, in turn, am beginning to have the courage to do the same.
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