Special Delivery

I have a very dear neighbour, Nenette who might be an angel. Ever generous of her time and of her talents, pulled in so many directions, but still somehow frequently finds the time to show up on our doorstep to share something from her garden or some deliciousness she has made from scratch in her kitchen with our family.  

Yesterday, she brought some homemade bao...still warm from the steamer and it tasted like home.  

Her special delivery was timely.  This time of year always leaves me homesick for Mark's parents.  My mother-in-law, Angie used to make these buns. I had never tasted bao until I met her. She made them effortlessly; never scolding for eating them as fast as she could steam them despite the time and care it took to prepare each one.

I had just watched this really touching video about the Mother Exchange Program, an initiative that connects children studying away from home with a mother in their city who prepares home-cooked meals for them when their own mothers cannot ...and then there she was... on my doorstep with a gift of food that connected us to a piece of our past that most days feels irretrievable.  

From first foods to favourite meals to recipes passed down through the generations, there is something deeply satisfying in preparing and sharing food with the people we love.  Food brings us together, it enriches our celebrations, it unites our cultures, it heals, it provides us with comfort and sustenance, it is an expression of our love and gratitude, it is a sensory pleasure and a creative outlet, it unites us with people we have met and places we have been, it connects us to our past.

I was really touched by this video.  I love my family.  I love to cook.  I love to cook for my family.  The concept of our children living elsewhere to study is foreign yet not far away for Mark and I.  The joy a mother finds in nourishing her family and the comfort and connection that this expression provides for her child is beautifully portrayed in the Mother Exchange video clip. If you want to watch something good, do check out the above video link perhaps with a box of tissue.

The Goodness abounds!  Nenette is coming to my house on Monday to once again share her time and talents with me by teaching me how to prepare the bao in my own kitchen.  I am super excited!  Look for a future post of her bao tutorial!  Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you for your very delicious food delivery Nennette and for offering to help me learn how to make them too.