For my project, I want to create a family cookbook. My family is Greek. Food is a big part of Greek identity and culture. My focus of the cookbook will be my grandmother’s recipes. My grandmother is known to be the best cook in the family yet no one has ever learned her recipes. The cookbook will also feature personal family stories related to the specific food. This will make the cookbook more personal. In addition to recipes and stories, my cookbook will also feature the history of certain dishes I learn. This is important for a Greek cookbook because most of the food isn’t actually from Greece. This cookbook will allow me to learn how to cook Greek food, and by doing so, connect further with my identity. Food is all about tradition and this book will help maintain my family’s greek traditions for the future. My guiding question is: How do I preserve tradition through cooking. This project is very doable if we continue to be in lockdown. I can do both the cooking and writing at home. I will learn the recipes with my grandmother via zoom.

I will do most of my research by reading a textbook about Greek food. The book that I had in mind is called “A History of Food in Greece” by Andrew Daltby. This book explores the history of the various Greek regional food and the history of exported Greek products. The book also includes the history of certain Greek traditions such as hospitality, which is pivotal to Greek culture.
My project will involve me cooking a wide array of Greek food and desserts. I will get all of the recipes from my Grandmother. If a recipe requires Greek locally sourced ingredients I will shop from Titan. Titan is a greek marketplace in Astoria. Titan is close to my Grandmothers house which I visit often. Most traditional Greek food takes multiple days to prepare which will help put me over the 20 hours a week requirement.

For the cookbook, I plan on covering 10 recipes. These 10 recipes will be a mixture of appetizers, main courses, and desserts. This number is not final, I may add or subtract recipes depending on how much time the cooking/research process takes. I will make the cookbook using blurb.com, a website that lets me make custom cookbooks. My process will involve me choosing a dish and making it with tips from my grandmother via zoom. I will take pictures during the entire process for the book. The recipe and pictures will by accommodated by either a family story which I will get from my various relatives, or a brief history blurb which I will learn from the book.

Overall this cookbook will feature mostly recipes. In those recipes, I will also wave in the history of the food, or a family story related to the food. This project is very meaningful to me because I have always had a strong desire to learn about my family’s recipes and history.