In the bleak early days of the pandemic, as Americans cocooned themselves in jigsaw puzzles, half-sewn face masks and bubbling tubs of sourdough starter, student journalist Nina Raemont started cooking.
The University of Minnesota junior had always enjoyed cooking. But now — taking classes online, writing for a newsroom she’d never set foot in — she had a lot more time to spend in the kitchen.
“I just found myself making a lot of food and feeling upset that I wasn’t able to bring it to my friends,” Raemont said. “I thought, ‘When is the next time that I’m going to be able to really share a meal across a table with people, and talk about the food, and eat the food and have that collective experience with someone else?’”
Turns out, there’s more than one way to share a meal. Raemont pitched the idea that became “Sharing Food” to her editors. A recurring feature where students teach one another how to make their favorite comfort foods — from hot dish to chicken adobo to a savory bowl of qaib rau tshuaj.
She was looking for dishes simple enough to whip up in a minimally stocked college kitchen, on a minimal college budget. The sort of meals you share at Grandma’s, not the kind you order in a restaurant.
She reached out to student organizations across campus, looking for recipes, and the stories behind the recipes.
“What’s something comforting that you love and you love to make?” she wanted to know.
A dozen members of the Oromo Student Union banded together to share a meal with the entire campus. Eventually, they settled on a dish Derartu Ansha’s grandmother used to make back in Ethiopia, before Minnesota was home.