Smells and Bells

  Memorable Moments; Smells and Bells I would say I have two memorable moments from this course. One of the moments was our walk in the Wheaton woods, just because it was only my second time walking in the woods but it gave me the opportunity not only to interact with my classmates but also to explore the woods in a way I had never seen before. I did not realize how many things had been left in the woods overtime including the art projects and all the car parts! It was just an interesting look into a part of the Wheaton life that I had never considered before. The other memorable moment from this semester was our final feast. I had a really great time getting the opportunity to cook in an actual kitchen with nice, fresh ingredients and then share my food with my classmates. I haven’t really gotten the opportunity to cook for other people well I’m at Wheaton because the kitchen situation isn’t really ideal, so I was glad to finally get that opportunity! Plus, I was able to really re...

      I love to cook. I sit down, looking through all of the 48 cookbooks in my house. Not just to look for something to make for dinner, but to get inspired. I get inspired by the flavors and colors of the food to create new art pieces, to relax. Cooking is somehow both so exciting and so stressful. It's exciting because I can create something that I can enjoy making, seeing the foods transform and evolve using spices, heat, cold, and they become this symphony of flavors and textures, almost like a gorgeous design in a fabric. Regardless of if I'm cooking for one person or for my family or friends, cooking is so vibrant. I dance across the kitchen looking for spices or flavors that you have to bring out by tending to the food like a small child. I often cook for my family, such as eggs benedict, crab stuffed salmon, and more. As a person who is Deaf and colorblind, cooking is a creative way for me to create something without needing some sort of accommodation, such as he...

At the risk of sounding hubristic, human beings are imbued with a portion of divine power in the kitchen. We manipulate the elements of fire, air, and water to transform one thing into another. We feel like ancient herbalists when we fine tune the spicing of our dishes, and we usually do it to satisfy ourselves and other humans, not to glorify God. It's impossible to not think of burnt offerings when you're grilling and the flames jump to lick at the delectable meat, and smoke rises up to the heavens (or your fume hood). Cain and Abel offering their sacrifices Gustav Dore, 1866 It could be said that that which is pleasing to the tastes of man is often pleasing to God. In Judaism, he loves oxen, sheep, and goat, and enjoys the covenant which produces "the “soothing odor”  of sacrifice" (Green, 117). In Lucumi  religion, the Oricha, like us, have their  favorite foods, and exceptions. What one Oricha may find pleasing, another might find repugnant. Simila...