I recently combed through my family’s cookbook, a white binder full of recipes that my parents have collected over the years. Some are torn out of magazines, others are written on scraps of paper, from a yellowing DMV envelope to stationary from my mom’s old job. It’s been nine years since my mom died, but I still feel her through her food and the stories we share about her while eating it around the dining room table.

Some people eat to live and others live to eat. I’m the latter. Food has always felt special to me. I love what it can symbolize: tradition, community, comfort and exploration. It’s amazing how one dish can be made so many different ways depending on who’s cooking it, how much you can learn about someone through food and how cooking can be a way to show someone you care.

What’s your favorite meal? What are your family traditions surrounding food? Do you like to cook? What special memories do you have with food?

Whatever comes to mind, I’d love to know.

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Please send to lifestyles@marinij.com by May 16 and look for it in the May 27 lifestyles section and online.