Yewande Komolafe, a cooking columnist for The New York Times, was born with a blood disorder. In late 2023, she was hospitalized; since then, medical treatments have profoundly changed her relationship to her body and, by extension, to her cooking practice, an evolution she recounts in this short, measured essay.
Now so much of my life is spent leaning on others, and making food is no longer the solitary and meditative act it once was. It calls to mind a phrase in Yoruba, “A jọ ṣé pọ̀,” meaning, “We do it together” or “We collaborate.” This has become a refrain that I recite while I’m writing recipes, taking meals with loved ones and performing the once simple tasks of everyday life.
More picks about cooking
Arroz Imperial and the Taste Of Regret
“Miami’s famous casserole is a dish meant to be shared. (That’s where I went wrong.)”
Totally Cooked
“We picked the 25 most important recipes of the past century. Then I spent one month cooking every single one. I was not prepared.”
Who’s Afraid of Spatchcocked Chicken?
“Squeamishness around meat is embedded into the English language — and by extension, Western attitudes towards the realities of meat.”
