Every Bite Tells A Story

Spongy white, mushy brown, gelatinous purple, spongy white...my first recollection of international cuisine was my first peanut-butter and jelly sandwich at Aldene Elementary School. Ok, so you might think a pb&j sandwich is not exotic, but for me it was. Being raised in Puerto Rico, I was used to rice and beans for my school lunch. To me, the two triangular shaped white, brown, and purple concoctions wrapped in clear plastic was as bazaar as something Andrew Zimmern would eat on his show. Thus the love to try new foods began for me in the state of New Jersey. For the first time in my young life I experienced the idea of having variety for school lunch, I could have a pb&j sandwich one day and my own personal pizza in a tiny box the next! I was so excited about eating "American" food, that I turned my nose up to my mom's Puerto Rican home cooking. Thank God that as I got older I learned to appreciate my native cuisine, but having lived in Jersey for over 25 years, I cannot say I only eat Puerto Rican food. Like the very people you will find in Jersey, my home cooking is eclectic, sometimes simple and sometimes complex.

That is why I decided to write this blog. If you ask me what do I love most about living in New Jersey my answer will be "the diversity". I love the fact that on any given day I can go eat food from any given country.  I don’t have to travel far to find myself in a neighborhood in which all the store-fronts are in a different language. If I can’t find it in Jersey, then I can go into the city (that is NYC for you non- New Jerseyans). However, my love for international cuisine really blossomed when I started working in the English as a Second Language Department at Kean University. There I was exposed to a diverse group of recently arrived immigrants and a staff that embraced and supported diversity. I will never forget the departmental Christmas Potluck parties; it was all about the food, the delicious food that represented each corner of the world.

Kean University ESL Potluck 2000

           Administrators, professors, students, office workers, the maintenance crew, everyone was included and everyone would bring something that represented who they were. Each dish was a story of each person’s cultural heritage and family. Sitting at the large wooden table at the back of the ESL office in the Willis Building, we sampled the eclectic cornucopia, as each person would explain their dish...each bite came with a story. It is those stories that made the morsels taste even better.

Kean University ESL Potluck 2000

         I love those moments when you discover a new flavor or food, a new way to eat something familiar, and when you have a story to go with it. I love tasting something that transports me to a new way of thinking, a new language, a new tradition, a new group of people...all with just one bite. During those potluck parties I discovered how food can connect people from different worlds and that sharing a meal is a great way to break the ice! I am grateful that the world of ESL has given me this privilege; first as an ESL student during my pb&J discoveries, then as an ESL teacher. In this blog, my hope is to explore the stories behind the bites that represent the diversity around me and to share it with others. I also hope that those who read this blog can share their "bite stories" in your comments and via email. So I encourage you to come along with me in this journey and explore Jersey International Cuisine...where every bite tells a story.

Contact Ms. A at: JICUISINE@gmail.com