A Feed Your Fire podcast episode that explores who we are as we round the corner to mother's day infused with the playful spirit of Cinco de Mayo. Join us as we delve into the impact of the maternal environment on our self expression, honoring our roots, and learning from ideas beyond our heritage.
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Episode Transcript:
Hello, and welcome to Feed Your Fire. I'm Kim Baker, founder of Kim Baker Foods. In today's episode, we're gonna talk about what makes us who we are, with a Mother's Day inspired recipe, and a hint of tequila for Cinco de Mayo.
Think of it as a party where family meets fiesta. And while this multicultural meal adds a playfulness, what we're about to share together is 100% authentic. This week is steeped in heritage and going back to our roots.
On Sunday, many of you will be gathering with your families to honor the nurturing force that brought you into this world and celebrate the relationships that you may have with your own children. That led me to think about what makes us who we are.
When I was in college studying biology, we learned about the genetics of what makes us who we are. But layered upon that are a variety of other environmental factors that affect how our genes get expressed. The maternal environment where we developed in utero inside our mother's womb is a crucial source of those epigenetic influences.
If you're a parent, you may be trying to retrace your steps to imagine your own life during your child's pregnancy. I wish I would have known and appreciated that impact.
Children often believe that they're half their mother and half their father. But what they really are is 100% themselves. Each person is born of completely unique circumstances that can never be recreated again. Those circumstances are just as much a part of them as their genetic sequence.
And while the experiences of our youth are clearly foundational, who we are continues to be informed by our experiences, our choices, and our responses throughout the course of our lifetime. We can surround ourselves in the environment that helps nurture the person we want to become. I very much believe that who we are is a verb. It's an action. It's dynamic and ever-changing. And yet, it's grounded in 20,000 some-odd genes, and a historical narrative.
A couple weeks ago, my sisters came to visit me in Virginia. It was a quick trip, and we were packing in the time together. And at the end of the night, we found ourselves hanging out in my room, sharing stories, and laughing. And as the night went on, and we grew tired, one by one, we got under the covers, laying side-by-side in this queen-size bed—my two sisters, myself, and my niece. It was like we were enchiladas, rolled up right beside one another, packed in all snuggly, and covered up in blankets. My son saw us and dove on the bed to give us a hug.
It was a favorite moment. And even though we created that moment ourselves, and my parents are no longer living, it was shaped by our past. And I could feel my mother's spirit running through it. Her warmth, her playfulness.
I remember when she first passed away, the counselor that I was seeing had suggested that when I have these moments of missing her, I can hold on to a pillow and feel that sense of security, and I remember telling her that that’s like craving a piece of chocolate cake and having a graham cracker. It's just not the same substitute. But over time, I've come to be able to connect with the parts of her that live on through me.
I know not everyone has that same source. And so if for whatever reason, it's not naturally in your life from your family, cast the net wider. We can share it from person to person, from friend to friend, and in this very experience that we have together. And it's that feeling I hope to evoke for you today. We're going for warm and cozy, grounded in roots with a touch of fun, like that adult 40-year-old slumber party my sisters and I had together.
And so we're going to be making enchiladas, sort of. We're going for that Cinco de Mayo spirit, infused with Italian-American vibes, a menu that represents all of the forces, internal and external, that make us who we are.
These Italian-style enchiladas may be faux cuisine, but they are oozing with authenticity. And we will, of course, pair them with a traditional margarita. To make these Italian-style enchiladas, we're going to use thin slices of zucchini instead of tortilla. And we're going to stuff them with sautéed mushrooms, some ricotta, and cover it with tomato sauce and some cheese.
First thing we're going to do is thinly slice zucchini on a mandolin. We're going to do it lengthwise so there's long strips. Just be really careful with the mandolin. You want to use that before you have those margaritas. I use about two zucchinis for four enchiladas.
When you're done, just set them aside. We're going to grab a sauté pan and heat it up on the stove. Then add in some olive oil and about a quart of finely chopped mushrooms. Let those cook down. Add a little bit of shallot, some thyme, some salt, pepper, maybe even a little garlic powder.
While that's cooking, grab a small bowl and add in about a cup of ricotta, some parmesan cheese, a little bit of nutmeg, and some salt and pepper.
Then when you're ready to assemble, grab a small piece of parchment paper and lay out about six of those thin zucchini slices overlapping one another. Then along one edge, add a bit of that mushroom mixture going from one end of the zucchini to the other. Then do the same with the ricotta over top. Then we're going to roll it up like a sushi roll using that parchment paper to help us get it started.
Once that's rolled up, put it in a baking dish that's lined with some tomato sauce, just lightly covering the bottom. Repeat that with the ingredients, placing each enchilada side by side, snugly in that pan. Then put a few dollops of tomato sauce over top, sprinkle them with salt and pepper, add some parmesan cheese, and a little bit of mozzarella. Pop that in the oven for about 30 minutes. And then it's party time.
One of the first times I ever cooked on TV, we made these margarita shrimp from my cookbook. And I still have the drinkware that we used during that segment. I remember going to Home Goods with my mom to stock up on supplies. And then filming that segment in between dropping my son off at daycare and going into the office. I didn't have time to go home in between and clean up, and so I had to deal at the end of the day with cleaning up the shrimp that had been sitting in my car during the workday. It was kind of nuts actually, but I couldn't abandon myself and my passions entirely.
Just like how the maternal environment affects our children in utero, the maternal environment continues to shape our children long after they're born. How we show up for our kids includes how we show up for ourselves. The two are inextricably linked. And how our fathers show up for our mothers is a big part of that recipe. There is an interdependence of those circumstances. And our parents were shaped by their mothers and their fathers. It's a complex web of interactions.
This gives us the opportunity to celebrate this Mother's Day with love, respect, and grace, appreciating the foundation that they provided, and owning our individuality. Growing by combining ideas outside of our heritage with the things that we're familiar with, very much like the recipe we created today. And now, if you'll excuse me, there's a party I need to attend. Until our next episode, I say so long.
Feed Your Fire, where food nourishes growth.