Project 2-All Drafts – Brooke's UNEPortfolio Site!

Paper 2, Draft 1 (500 words)

In American, food is typically seen as an important part of life. After all, humans need to eat in order to survive. Over time, food has ranged from being just a necessity from a pleasure. However, in today’s society, is food seen as a pleasure or a burden? According to an article “Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch” by Michael Pollan, food has made us who we are today. While his focus is on Julia Child and her impact on his life, every American has a food that has impacted their personal life as well. Pollan believes that Child’s French style cooking in his house a part of his day. In today’s age, Pollan argues that food is becoming less important in our day to day lives. While a home cooked meal might not be prepared every night, many Americans value food. In a class’s “Favorite Food Essay”, it is clearly noted that having a home cooked meal had importance to every student. John Meuse, Diego Fernandez and Kayla Lowe all demonstrate a common idea in their essays: family. They show that food brings family together. For both Pollan and the students, they felt that the home cooked meal was a way for them to spend time with their families. It was a way for them to be with their families, which is something that many Americans enjoy doing. While home cooked meals may not happen as often, they do still have a significance to American families today. They allow for people to spend precious time with loved ones.

Pollan’s piece highlighted the idea that Americans are continuing to get lazy, even with their meals. His memories of food were with his mom and the famous French Chef, Julia Child. Child’s TV show was not just entertainment, it gave the family recipes that were actually cooked at home by his mother. During these times he remembers her making the dish for him and his sister. He names dishes such as, “ boeuf bourguignon (the subject of the show’s first episode), French onion soup gratinée, duck à l’orange, coq au vin, mousse au chocolat” (Pollan, 1). If it wasn’t for Child’s show and recipes, he would have never had the experience of these French dishes. Experiencing new foods seemed to have a significance for Pollan. While that holds true for today, there tends to be a difference in the foods that families typically made in the Favorite Food essay. For the students, the food typically made were from the same ancestry. The meals tend to be dishes that people feel comfortable making.

In the Favorite Food Essay, families would make foods that connected them to their history. These are recipes that have been passed down through generations. Meuse stated, “This meal was not only a revelation for me but a long-standing family tradition” (Meuse). Being able to have a meal is one thing, but having a meal that has meaning in someone’s life is another. Anyone can make a simple sandwich or soup but when discussing a favorite meal, there is a significance to it.

Project 2, Draft 2 (800 words)

Brooke Parks

Professor Miller

English Composition 110-H5

30 October 2019

Family and Food: The Importance of Both

In America, food is seen as an important aspect of our daily life. After all, humans need to eat in order to survive. Over time, food has ranged from being just a necessity from a pleasure. However, in today’s society, we face a question: Is food seen as a pleasure or a burden? What does food mean to us today? According to an article “Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch” by Michael Pollan, food makes us who we are today. Pollan focuses on Julia Child and her impact on his life which is constant to every American. Food impacts everyone’s personal life. Pollan believes that Child’s French style cooking in his house a part of his day. In today’s age, Pollan argues that food is becoming less important in our day to day lives. While a home cooked meal might not be prepared every night, many Americans value food. In a class’s “Favorite Food Essay”, it is clearly noted that having a home cooked meal had importance to every student. John Meuse, Diego Fernandez and Kayla Lowe all demonstrate a common idea in their essays: family. They show that food brings family together and allows for conversations to occur. For both Pollan and the students, they felt that the home cooked meal was a way for them to spend time with their families. It is a way for them to spend time with loved ones, which they might not be able to do every night. While home cooked meals may not happen as often, they still hold a significance to families today. They allow for people to spend precious time with loved ones which is valued in our lives.

For Pollan, cooking is a piece highlighted the idea that Americans are continuing to get lazy, even with their meals. His memories of food were with his mom and the famous French Chef, Julia Child. Child’s TV show was not just entertainment, it gave the family recipes that were actually cooked at home by his mother. During these times he remembers her making the dish for him and his sister. He names dishes such as, “ boeuf bourguignon (the subject of the show’s first episode), French onion soup gratinée, duck à l’orange, coq au vin, mousse au chocolat” (Pollan, 1). If it wasn’t for Child’s show and recipes, he would have never had the experience of these French dishes. Experiencing new foods seemed to have a significance for Pollan. These were the times when he would be with his mom in the kitchen experiencing the way these dishes were being made. While that is still true for today, there was a difference in the foods that families were making in their Favorite Food essay. For the students, the food made was from a part of their history. The meals tend to be dishes that people feel most comfortable making. The meal, similar to Pollan’s experience, is never eaten alone. It typically is with the family at the dinner table rather than alone in front of the TV.

Project 2, Draft 3 (1000 words, after peer review)

Brooke Parks

Professor Miller

English Composition 110-H5

30 October 2019

Family and Food: The Importance of Both

In America, food is seen as an important aspect of our daily life. After all, humans need to eat in order to survive. Over time, food has ranged from being just a necessity from a pleasure. However, in today’s society, we face a question: Is food seen as a pleasure or a burden? What does food mean to us today? According to an article “Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch” by Michael Pollan, food makes us who we are today. Pollan focuses on Julia Child and her impact on his life which is constant to every American. Julia Child is a french cook who aired her first cooking show in 1963 (Pollan, 1). This was one of the first cooking shows in air in the United States. Food has an impact on everyone’s personal life. Pollan believes that Child’s French style cooking in his house a part of his day. In today’s age, Pollan argues that food is becoming less important in our day to day lives. While a home cooked meal might not be prepared every night, many Americans value food. In classmates “Favorite Meal Essay”, it is clearly noted that having a home cooked meal had importance to every student. Diego Fernandez, John Meuse, and Kayla Lowe all demonstrate a common idea in their essays: family. They show that food brings family together and allows for conversations to occur. For both Pollan and the students, they felt that the home cooked meal was a way for them to spend time with their families. It is a way for them to spend time with loved ones, which they might not be able to do every night. While home cooked meals may not happen as often, they still hold a significance to families today. They allow for people to spend precious time with loved ones which is valued in our lives.

For Pollan, cooking is a piece highlighted the idea that Americans are continuing to get lazy, even with their meals. His memories of food were with his mom and the famous French Chef, Julia Child. Child’s TV show was not just entertainment, it gave the family recipes that were actually cooked at home by his mother. During these times he remembers her making the dish for him and his sister. He names dishes such as, “ boeuf bourguignon (the subject of the show’s first episode), French onion soup gratinée, duck à l’orange, coq au vin, mousse au chocolat” (Pollan, 1). If it was not for Child’s show and recipes, he would have never had the experience of these French dishes. Experiencing new foods seemed to have a significance for Pollan. These were the times when he would be with his mom in the kitchen experiencing the way these dishes were being made. While that is still true for today, there was a difference in the foods that families were making in their Favorite Food essay. For the students, the food made was from a part of their history. The meals tend to be dishes that people feel most comfortable making. Diego Fernandez, a freshman at the University of New England, wrote about this experience in his “Favorite Meal Essay”. He states in the recipe that his father said, “this recipe by saying its not really a recipe – just a guideline” and that, “He cooks how his mother taught him, which means he usually just improvises and feels it out”(Fernandez). When someone feels comfortable with a meal, they are able to know how the food should look, feel, smell, and taste. If the dish is off, the person is able to make adjustments to food until it is perfect.

In Enlish Composition 110, fall semester students wrote a “Favorite Meal Essay” where they explained their favorite meal. As college students, many wrote about a home cooked food. In the Favorite Meal Essay, families would make foods that connected them to their history. These are recipes that have been passed down through generations. John Meuse, another freshman from the University of New England, states in his essay that, “This meal was not only a revelation for me but a long-standing family tradition” (Meuse). While having a home cooked meal is nice, there is something special when the meal has a meaning to your family. Meuse, for example, discusses his grandmother’s spaghetti bolognese. This dish has meaning to him because, despite the taste, it brings him closer to his family. For many, eating together as a family can be difficult. Everyone has different schedules and plans that can interfere with spending quality time with our loved ones. Despite this, when reading the favorite meal essays, family was commonly mentioned. For some, it was spending time with the person cooking the meal. In a “Favorite Meal Essay” from 2018, Kayla Lowe, a student at the University of New England, wrote about stuffed shells. Kayla Lowe’s experience with the dish was that she could,

“always count on spending time with my dad is when he’s making stuffed shells. He knows I love the dish and lets me hover around the kitchen and talk to him while he makes it. Talking with my dad while he stuffs the noodles is the greatest therapy session I could ever have” (Lowe).

For her, the dish is more than just stuffed shells. The dish gives her an opportunity to spend time with her dad, which is special to her. These cooking conversations are different than a quick, “so, how was your day?” but rather more meaningful discussions. These are conversations that most people would not trade for the world. They have a special meaning to them rather than small talk.

For many families, actually eating the dish is one of the best parts of the entire cooking process. While eating, the family is typically together. This is different than Pollan’s idea that we now eat in front of the television while watching cooking shows (Pollan, 12). While for many people this may be true, these are not the meals we remember. For Meuse, his family get together on Wednesdays nights where his family gets, “ to sit down and see each other, you know it’s really not about the meal at all; it’s about what the meal does for us”(Meuse). While eating the dish is good, it is about what happens when people are eating that has meaning.

Project 2, Draft 4 (1200 words, after in class writing period)

Brooke Parks

Professor Miller

English Composition 110-H5

30 October 2019

Family and Food: The Importance of Both

In America, food is seen as an important aspect of our daily life. After all, humans need to eat in order to survive. Over time, food has ranged from being just a necessity from a pleasure. However, in today’s society, we face a question: Is food seen as a pleasure or a burden? What does food mean to us today? For many Americans, food would be seen as a pleasure and an important part of their day. According to an article “Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch” by Michael Pollan, food makes us who we are today. Pollan focuses on Julia Child and her impact on his life. Julia Child is a french cook who aired her first cooking show in 1963 (Pollan, 1). This was one of the first cooking shows to be aired in the United States. This lead to a whole new era of how meals were cooked. It was not just following a recipe from a book but rather seeing and hearing how the food is supposed to be cooked. Food has an impact on everyone’s personal life. Pollan believes that Child’s French style cooking in his house was a part of his day. In today’s kitchens, Pollan argues that food is becoming less important in our day to day lives. However, while a home cooked meal might not be prepared every night, many Americans still value food. While home cooked meals may not happen as often, they still hold a lot of significance to families today. They allow for people to spend precious time with loved ones which is valued in our lives.

In classmates “Favorite Meal Essay”, it is clearly noted that having a home cooked meal had importance to every student. Diego Fernandez, John Meuse, and Kayla Lowe all demonstrate a common idea in their essays: family. They show that food brings family together and allows for conversations to occur. For both Pollan and the students, they felt that a he home cooked meal was a way for them to spend time with loved ones, which they might not be able to do every night. As college students, they realize the importance of spending time with the people they care about. When someone you love lives over two hours away, no amount of time spent with them seems to be enough.

Pollan highlights the idea that Americans are continuing to get lazy, even with their meals. For him, food was a way to connect with his mother. His memories of food were with his mom and the famous French Chef, Julia Child. Child’s TV show was not just entertainment, it gave the family recipes that were actually cooked at home by his mother. During these times he remembers her making the dish for him and his sister. He names dishes such as, “ boeuf bourguignon (the subject of the show’s first episode), French onion soup gratinée, duck à l’orange, coq au vin, mousse au chocolat” (Pollan, 1). If it was not for Child’s show and recipes, he would have never experienced any of the French dishes. Experiencing new foods seemed to have a significance for Pollan. These were the times when he would be with his mom in the kitchen experiencing the way these dishes were being made. At the University of New England, students wrote a, “Favorite Meal Essay” where they explained their favorite dish. While that is still true for today, there was a difference in the foods that families were making in their Favorite Meal Essay. For the students, the food made was from a part of their history. The meals tend to be dishes that people feel most comfortable making. Diego Fernandez, a freshman at the University of New England, wrote about this experience in his “Favorite Meal Essay”. He states in the recipe that his father said, “this recipe by saying its not really a recipe – just a guideline” and that, “He cooks how his mother taught him, which means he usually just improvises and feels it out”(Fernandez). When someone feels comfortable with a meal, they are able to know how the food should look, feel, smell, and taste. If the dish is off, the person is able to make adjustments to food until it is perfect.

In Enlish Composition 110, fall semester students wrote a “Favorite Meal Essay” where they explained their favorite meal. As college students, many wrote about a home cooked food that they missed. In a majority of the Favorite Meal Essay, families would make foods that connected them to their history. These are recipes that have been passed down through generations. John Meuse, another freshman from the University of New England, states in his essay that, “This meal was not only a revelation for me but a long-standing family tradition” (Meuse). While having a home cooked meal is nice, there is something special when the meal has a meaning to your family. Meuse, for example, discusses his grandmother’s spaghetti bolognese. This dish has meaning to him because, despite the taste, it brings him closer to his family. For many, eating together as a family can be difficult. Every family member has a different schedule and plans that can interfere with spending quality time with our loved ones. Despite this, when reading the favorite meal essays, family was commonly mentioned. For some, it was spending time with the person cooking the meal. In a “Favorite Meal Essay” from 2018, Kayla Lowe, a student at the University of New England, wrote about stuffed shells that her father made. Kayla Lowe’s experience with the dish was that she could,

For many families, actually eating the dish is one of the best parts of the entire cooking process. While eating, the family is together and this is where the memories around the dish are made. This is different than Pollan’s idea that we now eat in front of the television while watching cooking shows (Pollan, 12). While for many people this may be true, these are not the meals we tend to remember. For Meuse, his family get together on Wednesdays nights where his family gets, “to sit down and see each other, you know it’s really not about the meal at all; it’s about what the meal does for us”(Meuse). While eating the dish is an enjoyable time for most families, it is mostly about what happens when people are eating that has meaning. Not many families sit around the table and eat in complete silence, especially after one of those people spent their day cooking a meal. The conversations are lively and usually the room is filled with laughter.

Project 1, Draft 5- Final Draft (1424 Words)

Brooke Parks

Professor Miller

English Composition 110-H5

30 October 2019

Family and Food: The Importance of Both

In America, food is seen as an important aspect of our daily life. After all, humans need to eat in order to survive. Over time, food has ranged from being just a necessity from a pleasure. However, in today’s society, we face a question: Is food seen as a pleasure or a burden? What does food mean to us today? For many Americans, food would be seen as a pleasure and an important part of their day. According to an article “Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch” by Michael Pollan, food makes us who we are today. Pollan focuses on Julia Child and her impact on his life. Julia Child is a french cook who aired her first cooking show in 1963 (Pollan, 1). This was one of the first cooking shows to be aired in the United States. This lead to a whole new era of how meals were cooked. It was not just following a recipe from a book but rather seeing and hearing how the food is supposed to be cooked. Food has an impact on everyone’s personal life. Pollan believes that Child’s French style cooking in his house was a part of his day. In today’s kitchens, Pollan argues that food is becoming less important in our day to day lives. However, while a home cooked meal might not be prepared every night, many Americans still value food. While home cooked meals may not happen as often, they still hold a lot of significance to families today. They allow for people to spend precious time with loved ones which is valued in our lives.

In classmates “Favorite Meal Essay”, it is clearly noted that having a home cooked meal had importance to every student. Diego Fernandez, John Meuse, and Kayla Lowe all demonstrate a common idea in their essays: family. They show that food brings family together and allows for conversations to occur. For both Pollan and the students, there is a feeling that home cooked meals are a way for them to spend time with loved ones, which they might not be able to do every night. As college students, they realize the importance of spending time with the people they care about. When someone you love lives over two hours away, no amount of time spent with them seems to be enough.

Pollan highlights the idea that Americans are continuing to get lazy, even with their meals. For him, food was a way to connect with his mother. His memories of food were with his mom and the famous French Chef, Julia Child. Child’s TV show was not just entertainment, it gave the family recipes that were actually cooked at home by his mother. During these times he remembers her making the dish for him and his sister. He names dishes such as, “ boeuf bourguignon (the subject of the show’s first episode), French onion soup gratinée, duck à l’orange, coq au vin, mousse au chocolat” (Pollan, 1). If it was not for Child’s show and recipes, he would have never experienced any of the French dishes. Experiencing new foods seemed to have a significance for Pollan. These were the times when he would be with his mom in the kitchen experiencing the way these dishes were being made. However, at the University of New England, students wrote a, “Favorite Meal Essay” where they explained their favorite dish, demonstrates a different idea. While that is still true for today, there was a difference in the foods that families were making in their Favorite Meal Essay. For the students, the food made was from a part of their history. The meals tend to be dishes that people feel most comfortable making. Diego Fernandez, a freshman at the University of New England, wrote about this experience in his “Favorite Meal Essay”. He states in the recipe that his father said, “this recipe by saying its not really a recipe – just a guideline” and that, “He cooks how his mother taught him, which means he usually just improvises and feels it out”(Fernandez). When someone feels comfortable with a meal, they are able to know how the food should look, feel, smell, and taste. If the dish is off, the person is able to make adjustments to food until it is perfect.

In Enlish Composition 110, fall semester students wrote a “Favorite Meal Essay” where they explained their favorite meal. As college students, many wrote about a home cooked food that they missed. In a majority of the Favorite Meal Essay, families would make foods that connected them to their history. These are recipes that have been passed down through generations. John Meuse, another freshman from the University of New England, states in his essay that, “This meal was not only a revelation for me but a long-standing family tradition” (Meuse). While having a home cooked meal is nice, there is something special when the meal has a meaning to your family. Meuse, for example, discusses his grandmother’s spaghetti bolognese. This dish has meaning to him because, despite the taste, it brings him closer to his family. For many, eating together as a family can be difficult. Every family member has a different schedule and plans that can interfere with spending quality time with our loved ones. Despite this, when reading the favorite meal essays, family was commonly mentioned. For some, it was spending time with the person cooking the meal. In a “Favorite Meal Essay” from 2018, Kayla Lowe, a student at the University of New England, wrote about stuffed shells that her father made. Kayla Lowe’s experience with the dish was that she could,

While families might be getting lazier in their everyday cooking affairs, there is still a need to pass traditions down, which often coincides with spending time with family. When writing about dishes, the actual food was not as significant at spending time with their family. The students at the University of New England all explain how being with the person who was making the dish or talking at the dinner table was very important to them. While Michael Pollan thinks that food is becoming less important, the students show that this is not the case. Meals still hold a place in place in everyone’s life, especially when it involves loved ones.

Works Cited

Fernandez, Diego. “Favorite Meal Essay.” UNEPortfolio,

https://dfernandez1.uneportfolio.org/food-for-thought-2/. Accessed 24 October 2019.

Meuse, John. “Favorite Meal Essay.” UNEPortfolio,

https://jmeuse2.uneportfolio.org/food-for-thought/. Accessed 25 October 25 2019

Lowe, Kayla. “Favorite Meal Essay.” UNEPortfolio,

https://klowe5.uneportfolio.org/food-for-thought/. Accessed 23 October 2019

Pollan, Michael. “Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch.” The New York Times, 29 July 2009https://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/02/magazine/02cooking-t.html. Accessed 29 October 2019

Project 2, Draft 6 (After in class last minute revisions) (1422 words)

Brooke Parks

Professor Miller

English Composition 110-H5

30 October 2019

Family and Food: The Importance of Both

In America, food is seen as an important aspect of our daily life. After all, humans need to eat in order to survive. Over time, food has ranged from being just a necessity to a pleasure. However, in today’s society, we face a question: Is food seen as a pleasure or a burden? What does food mean to us today? For many Americans, food would be seen as a pleasure and an important part of their day. According to an article “Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch” by Michael Pollan, food makes us who we are today. Pollan focuses on Julia Child and her impact on his life. Julia Child is a french cook who aired her first cooking show in 1963 (Pollan, 1). This was one of the first cooking shows to be aired in the United States. This lead to a whole new era of how meals were cooked. It was not just following a recipe from a book but rather seeing and hearing how the food is supposed to be cooked. Food has an impact on everyone’s personal life. Pollan believes that Child’s French style cooking in his house was a part of his day. In today’s kitchens, Pollan argues that food is becoming less important in our day to day lives. However, while a home cooked meal might not be prepared every night, many Americans still value food. While home cooked meals may not happen as often, they still hold a lot of significance to families today. They allow for people to spend precious time with loved ones which is highly valued in our lives.

In classmates “Favorite Meal Essay”, it is clearly noted that having a home cooked meal has importance to every student. Diego Fernandez, John Meuse, and Kayla Lowe all demonstrate a common idea in their essays: family. They show that food brings family together and allows for conversations to occur between the people they care about. For both Pollan and the students, there is a feeling that home cooked meals are a way for them to spend time with loved ones, which they might not be able to do every night. As college students, they realize the importance of spending time with the people they care about. When someone you love lives over an hour away, no amount of time spent with them seems to be enough.

Pollan highlights the idea that Americans are continuing to get lazy, even with their meals. For him, food was a way to connect with his mother. His memories of food were with his mom and the famous French Chef, Julia Child. Child’s TV show was not just entertainment, it gave the family recipes that were actually cooked at home by his mother. During these times he remembers her making the dish for him and his sister. He names dishes such as, “ boeuf bourguignon (the subject of the show’s first episode), French onion soup gratinée, duck à l’orange, coq au vin, mousse au chocolat” (Pollan, 1). If it was not for Child’s show and recipes, he would have never experienced any of the French dishes. Experiencing new foods seemed to have a significance for Pollan. These were the times when he would be with his mom in the kitchen experiencing the way these dishes were being made. At the University of New England, students wrote a, “Favorite Meal Essay” where they explained their favorite dish, demonstrates a similar idea. However, there was a difference in the foods that families were making in their Favorite Meal Essay. For the students, the food made was from a part of their history. The meals tend to be dishes that people feel most comfortable making. Diego Fernandez, a freshman at the University of New England, wrote about this experience in his “Favorite Meal Essay”. He states in the recipe that his father said, “this recipe by saying its not really a recipe – just a guideline” and that, “He cooks how his mother taught him, which means he usually just improvises and feels it out”(Fernandez). When someone feels comfortable with a meal, they are able to know how the food should look, feel, smell, and taste. If the dish is off, the person is able to make adjustments to food until it is perfect.

As college students, many wrote about a home cooked food that they missed. In a majority of the Favorite Meal Essay, families would make foods that connected them to their history. These are recipes that have been passed down through generations. John Meuse, another freshman from the University of New England, states in his essay that, “This meal was not only a revelation for me but a long-standing family tradition” (Meuse). While having a home cooked meal is nice, there is something special when the meal has a meaning to your family. Meuse, for example, discusses his grandmother’s spaghetti bolognese. This dish has meaning to him because, despite the taste, it brings him closer to his family. For many, eating together as a family can be difficult. Every family member has a different schedule and plans that can interfere with spending quality time with our loved ones. Despite this, when reading the favorite meal essays, family was commonly mentioned. For some, it means spending time with the person cooking the meal. In a “Favorite Meal Essay” from 2018, Kayla Lowe, a student at the University of New England, wrote about stuffed shells that her father made. Kayla Lowe’s experience with the dish was that she could,

While families might be getting lazier in their everyday cooking affairs, there is still a need to pass traditions down, which often coincides with spending time with family. When writing about dishes, the actual food was not as significant at spending time with their family. Pollan explains the importance of this multiple times in his essay, “Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch”. The students at the University of New England all explain how being with the person who was making the dish or talking at the dinner table was very important to them. While Michael Pollan thinks that food is becoming less important, the students show that this is not the case. Meals still hold a place in place in everyone’s life, especially when it involves loved ones.

Works Cited

Fernandez, Diego. “Favorite Meal Essay.” UNEPortfolio,

https://dfernandez1.uneportfolio.org/food-for-thought-2/. Accessed 24 October 2019.

Meuse, John. “Favorite Meal Essay.” UNEPortfolio,

https://jmeuse2.uneportfolio.org/food-for-thought/. Accessed 25 October 25 2019

Lowe, Kayla. “Favorite Meal Essay.” UNEPortfolio,

https://klowe5.uneportfolio.org/food-for-thought/. Accessed 23 October 2019

Pollan, Michael. “Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch.” The New York Times, 29 July 2009

https://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/02/magazine/02cooking-t.html. Accessed 29 October 2019