Cooking again
by Gabriela Lena Frank
Tonight, I started cooking again. I felt neglectful that Jeremy’s been surviving on granola and frozen leftovers but with George Floyd’s death, the two of us struggled to just simply not give in to bitterness. Fire season is upon us though, heedless of the economic crisis, corona, policed racial violence, and the continued caging of Central American kids at the border who look like my cousins.
It’s so much to bear. I’ve got nightmares coming back. But we have to eat. Have to get ready.
Our homestead is beginning to toss food at us. I like to think that it’s insisting we fuel up; and I feel so lucky that my partner likes growing and eating the things my mom ate in Peru. In honor of her and the cultural gifts she has passed on to me, I’m boiling a fig leaf with a mix of wild and cultivated berries. The leaf imparts an incredible coconut flavor and the house is filling with the aroma of sweetness and promise.
Be safe, everyone.
Gabriela
Gabriela Lena Frank is the director of the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music. Included in the Washington Post's list of the 35 most significant women composers in history (August, 2017), Gabriela was born in Berkeley, California. Winner of a Latin Grammy, she has composed for leading orchestras and worked with luminaries like cellist Yo Yo Ma, soprano Dawn Upshaw, the King’s Singers, and the Kronos Quartet. She also is a passionate believer in service, and has brought her love of music into hospitals, schools, and prisons. Learn more on Gabriela's bio page.