One item important to my identity is my mom's recipe box. When my mom was born, my grandparents had to figure out how to eat cheap, while still keeping it healthy. My grandmother experimented and made a recipe box of their favorite dishes that were cheap and healthy. One of my favorite things about the box is how the recipes are still the same as when my grandma wrote them by hand. I really like how there are tons of dishes from Memphis you would never be able to find up North. My grandma's vegetable recipes, like for carrots and lima beans, were so good I didn’t even have to be asked to eat them.Coca-cola cake is one of my favorite desserts in the world, and I’ve never been able to find it up here. The most important thing to me about this box is all the memories I've made cooking the recipes and hearing my grandma’s stories. I remember baking cookies with my grandma, sitting on the floor watching them transform from dough balls to perfect golden brown, fudgy, chocolate chip cookies. I loved how the house smelled when she was making our special meals. While my grandparents may be gone, I will always remember the good times with them, making our traditional food and laughing around the table as we ate it.

– Alejandro S.

Relationship:  Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more