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The Tired Mom Meal That Means the Holidays to Me
How cooking for my family taught me why traditions matter
I am not a parent, but from what I understand from my tenure as a child, feeding your kids is not an easy task. My sister went through a phase where she’d only eat Kraft Macaroni & Cheese slathered with barbecue sauce, a personal affront to my mother, who only bought food from farmer’s markets and health food stores. I remember a specific moment when my mom made turkey breast, in lieu of her usual chicken, which my sister was enjoying until she learned that it wasn’t chicken, and had a nuclear-level meltdown. I was the easier child, much more game to try whatever she cooked up, but I still had her make me a separate salad because I didn’t like carrots.
Of all the things my mother made for dinner, I loved nothing more than a dish we still refer to as Favorite Chicken many years later. My sister was unsurprisingly not the biggest fan, but despite her complaints, she tolerated it. Loosely inspired by a recipe my mom saw in the New York Times maybe 40 years ago, the dish consists of chicken cooked in cumin, turmeric, paprika, grated ginger, and white wine, with a side of gnocchi, basmati rice and salad. It is a weird hodgepodge of various cuisines, and not something that sounds like a child would like, but as its name suggests, it was my…
