Tracey Suppo, Board Member, Chicago Cultural Alliance & CEO/Co-Founder Of Book+Main 

Taste from Home is a collection of recipes and stories can be used as a way to connect with others and facilitate conversations about race, culture, and identity over a new recipe. Make a cultural dish and sit down with family and friends and have a discussion of the culture it represents. 

Please consider making a tax-deductible donation today, if you are able. If you are unable to donate, you can still participate by sharing a recipe by using hashtags #tastefromhome, #tastefromhomerecipe, & #chicagocultural on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

From the time I can remember, I’ve always loved to cook. My grandmother, Clara, was an amazing cook and I grew up eating her food almost every Friday night when my family would go to my grandparents’ house for Shabbat dinner. Me, my parents, and my three siblings, plus my aunts, uncles, and cousins would all come together to celebrate the sabbath, eat, and catch up. My family moved away from Chicago when I was 12, but those gatherings are some of the most wonderful memories from my childhood.

My grandparents were Holocaust survivors. They met after the war and my mother was born in the Czech Republic. They came to the States when she was only six months old. Both of my grandparents had lost almost their entire families in the camps, and I can only imagine the joy they must have felt on those nights to be surrounded by a large, growing family that they created. Notably, my grandparents’ naturalization papers and many photos from my family’s archive are on display at the Illinois Holocaust Museum.

There are so many recipes that bring back childhood memories of my grandmother’s cooking: chicken paprikash, cholent, stuffed cabbage…and on and on.

However, in 2000, I went to Israel for the first time to attend my cousin’s wedding. I immediately fell in love with the country and its people—and, of course, its food. One of the dishes that has stayed with me since is shakshuka. I love vegetables and dishes that scream FRESH and have lively, bright flavors. I also like dishes that are really healthy. This is one of those dishes. There are many variations on shakshuka, and different ethnicities and countries often have their own spin. This is the way I learned to make it and it is a dish that I make often.

The recipe is in the link. A donation is not required to view the recipe. Any donations made will support the Chicago Cultural Alliance’s mission to promote, support, and connect museums and centers of cultural heritage for a more inclusive and equitable Chicago. 

Teresita Aviles Bailey, Development and Membership Associate, Chicago Cultural Alliance

Taste from Home is a collection of recipes and stories inspired by the food that defines who we are and where we come from. As we are all home exploring new recipes and cuisines, we encourage you to share a recipe and story with us that connects you to your family and cultural heritage.

Please consider making a tax-deductible donation today, if you are able. If you are unable to donate, you can still participate by sharing a recipe by using hashtags #tastefromhome, #tastefromhomerecipe, & #chicagocultural on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

Who taught you this recipe/how did you learn it?

I would love to say my mom taught me, since she is one of the best cooks in the family. However, she doesn’t measure things so as a teenager I never bothered to watch her and learn. So instead it is with great fun that I say that it was my American boyfriend (who is now my husband) taught me how to cook this traditional Nicaraguan dish. During my undergrad at Purdue I couldn’t afford to go home to Nicaragua and I was feeling quite homesick for one of my birthdays. He surprised me by cooking gallo pinto, although he was apologizing because he had burnt some of it. Little did he know that that was how my grandma (my Meme) would cook it. She would leave it on stove top on low while she did other things stirring it occasionally until it was nice and crispy. Now in our home, we serve it two different versions, a soft version for my husband and a crispy version for me.

When do you normally eat this dish? Is it for a holiday or celebration?

Gallo Pinto is a staple meal and you will find it in every Nicaraguan household at any time of the day alone or as a side. It is not uncommon to eat it for breakfast with eggs, cheese, and CORN tortillas, for lunch with cabbage salad and some type meat, and then again for dinner with a churrasco and plantains or more tortillas. Pre-pandemic, I would cook it maybe once a month or every couple of months because it takes while to get it just right. Since the quarantine however, I’ve developed the habit of making a big pot of beans and keep some in the freezer to make a big batch of gallo pinto to eat throughout the week. My husband loves it and will eat everyday given the chance.

What culture/country is this recipe from?

Nicaragua, however, it is a very common dish throughout Latin America with a few variations of beans (black beans vs. red) or different kinds of oil depending on the region and personal touches from each family (My family- A LOT of garlic). On the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua and Costa Rica for example, it is cooked with coconut oil which gives it a different flavor. In El Salvador it is called “casamiento” or “casados”. We all like to claim the dish as our own-which can lead to very heated debates- so before I get angry messages from family and friends: “El Gallo Pinto es Nica!”.

Why is it important to you?

It is quite simply a Taste From Home. It is a dish that reminds me of my family, friends, and my life in Nicaragua. It bring me joy and it is very comforting. My family is spread out around the world due to the Civil War during the 80’s but I am certain that they all cook this dish to remind them of home.

Shailaja Kumar, Friend of Vandita Garg, Board Secretary, Chicago Cultural Alliance

Taste from Home is collection of recipes and stories inspired by the food that defines who we are and where we come from. As we are all home exploring new recipes and cuisines, we encourage you to share a recipe and story with us that connects you to your family and cultural heritage.

Please consider making a tax-deductible donation today, if you are able. If you are unable to donate, you can still participate by sharing a recipe by using hashtags #tastefromhomechi, #thisischicago, & #chicagocultural on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

Suzanne Franklin, Board Member, Chicago Cultural Alliance

Taste from Home is a collection of recipes and stories can be used as a way to connect with others and facilitate conversations about race, culture, and identity over a new recipe.

Please consider making a tax-deductible donation today, if you are able. If you are unable to donate, you can still participate by sharing a recipe by using hashtags #tastefromhome, #tastefromhomerecipe, & #chicagocultural on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

Years ago, my husband and I were Peace Corps volunteers in the remote village of Beysehir Turkey.  We were young and very idealistic and were assigned to teach English in schools.  Speaking very little Turkish, we felt overwhelmed and challenged navigating each day.

After several lonely months, one family opened their home and hearts to us.  It was a passport into each other’s worlds.  As we practiced our Turkish and became familiar with Turkish culture, they shared with us their lives and their dreams.  We cherished our weekends together sharing meals and friendship.  Their willingness to accept us was such a generous act and a lesson that has endured with us throughout our lives.

I first learned of Turkish lentil soup one memorable fall day. A neighbor of our family hosted us to dinner.  I remember sitting with the mother and daughter of the house as we talked and laughed together.  They embraced me as a daughter and a sister.  They taught me not only how to make this delicious soup but, so much more in life. When I close my eyes, I can see us practicing Turkish and talking about our lives as we sipped Turkish tea, chopped onions, picked fresh tomatoes from their garden, and served this yummy soup with freshly baked bread for dinner.  It was a wonderful afternoon that has lingered until now.

Whenever I make this soup, which has become a family legend, I think of that afternoon and smile and, share this story with all my guests and the many life lessons it has taught me.

Opening windows to other cultures is why I am so proud to be a board member of the Chicago Cultural Alliance.   In these challenging times, we especially need to open our hearts and our wallets to help in the work of Alliance whose mission is to promote, connect, and support a more diverse and inclusive Chicago.   At this critical juncture, please stand with me in making a difference by making a donation today.

The recipe is in the link. A donation is not required to view the recipe. Any donations made will support the Chicago Cultural Alliance’s mission to promote, support, and connect museums and centers of cultural heritage for a more inclusive and equitable Chicago. 

Peter Vega, Executive Director, Chicago Cultural Alliance

Taste from Home is a collection of recipes and stories can be used as a way to connect with others and facilitate conversations about race, culture, and identity over a new recipe. Make a cultural dish and sit down with family and friends and have a discussion of the culture it represents. 

Please consider making a tax-deductible donation today, if you are able. If you are unable to donate, you can still participate by sharing a recipe by using hashtags #tastefromhome, #tastefromhomerecipe, & #chicagocultural on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

During our time in quarantine, my partner Stephen and his sister, Carolyn, and I decided to start cultural culinary adventures on the weekends! We alternated weekends on who would decide the menu and cultural cuisine. On my weekend, I wanted to make something that reminded me of home. One option I thought of was the delicious Puerto Rican family recipes that I have yet to perfect myself, however, I made it a personal goal to make Puerto Rican food more often in general. So, I thought about other dishes that remind me of home and New York City pizza and bagels immediately came to mind. 

As of May, I’ve lived in Chicago for seven years, but New York City is home and more specifically the Bronx. I grew up on East 220th Street and Carpenter Avenue in the Northeast Bronx where in the 60s, this neighborhood was predominantly Jewish and Italian-American. As a kid in the 90s, living in the Bronx, children my age would hang out with their friends to eat cheap pizza. So I would indulge in the delicious cuisine of the New York pizza joints and Jewish delis that were such foundations of the community. 

For my first Taste from Home recipe, I decided to share a Jewish deli classic, bagels and lox. At a young age, I learned the word lox is derived from the Yiddish word for salmon. I made my family a weekend brunch of homemade bagels and all the fixings, including capers, pickled red onions, tomatoes, and cream cheese. When I eat a bagel and lox, I am immediately brought back to my life in New York City. 

Taste from Home is a storytelling initiative that promotes cultural understanding. Food elicits vivid memories especially when tied to cultural traditions, holidays, or simply experiences that remind us of family and home. We hope you can join us in sharing a Taste from Home story of your own. 

The Chicago Cultural Alliance promotes and supports museums and cultural heritage centers that help us deepen our knowledge of the cultures in Chicago. I hope you can help us to promote cross-cultural experiences for a more inclusive Chicago by making a donation to the Alliance today. 

The recipe is in the link. A donation is not required to view the recipe. Any donations made will support the Chicago Cultural Alliance’s mission to promote, support, and connect museums and centers of cultural heritage for a more inclusive and equitable Chicago.