Translating “handfuls” and “pinches” to cups and teaspoons

December 18, 2019 5:05 PM

Andy Baraghani writes how cooking helped unlock the ability to share himself with the world.
posted by anem0ne (8 comments total)

This was wonderful. I found so much to relate to: I didn’t speak until I was older, school bullies, got to reinvent myself, had some meaningful moments with my dad when I came out of the closet. I also told people to pronounce my name differently than everyone in my family because I thought I’d get teased less (didn’t work in my case but it does help people spell it so I keep pronouncing it this way). I have a similar memory of talking to my family on June 26, 2015.

Sometimes I get really frustrated with Bon Appétit but this is exactly what I love about good food writing. I can taste the dishes he talks about as I read. Also, those childhood pictures make my heart ache in a good way.
posted by the thorn bushes have roses at 6:51 PM on December 18, 2019 [3 favorites]

I caught this article a few weeks ago and it's stuck with me since, it's so good.

Also reading this makes you really notice the way Andy lights up like a kid in a candy store when he tastes something he enjoys in a video, you can see the kid he describes being come through.
posted by jason_steakums at 8:37 PM on December 18, 2019 [2 favorites]

What a lovely article! There's just something so hopeful about his last lines that really rang out to me:
"For as many moments of clarity as there have been, there have been periods of shame and confusion and out-of-season peaches. All I can do to move through them is to try to set my doubts aside, get back to the kitchen, and cook"
posted by csox at 5:42 AM on December 19, 2019

This was, indeed, lovely.

And as a bonus, there's a video on the page where he walks you through making tachin, a baked rice dish, and it looked intriguing enough that I have tracked down where he published the recipe and have made my own notes about an attempt (the recipe calls for a dried Iranian berry called "barberries", and he suggests dried tart cherries as a substitute - but I found myself thinking "Hang on, how about dried cranberries?").

I also find myself wishing Anthony Bourdain were still with us so we could team the two of them up for something, because that conversation would have been fascinating.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:46 AM on December 19, 2019

Love him, and what a lovely interview.
posted by ellieBOA at 7:12 AM on December 19, 2019

I've become a huge fan of the Bon Appetit YouTube channel - they have great personalities and seem to have such fun with what they're doing. Andy's definitely one of my favorites - it's so great to learn more about him in this piece. I can relate to a lot of it!

And those pictures of baby Andy are so adorable!
posted by dnash at 8:05 AM on December 19, 2019

Great story. And now I want to make the crispy saffron rice
posted by mumimor at 11:35 AM on December 19, 2019

Thank you so much for sharing this! Andy is such a dear (also: the cranberry sauce sumac drama!) and this is such a thoughtful essay.
posted by epersonae at 12:20 PM on December 19, 2019