Junior Youan Chen quickly whips up fluffy fried eggs and pours a tad bit of soy sauce in a cup on a rainy day after school to unwind and refuel herself after a long day of school work.

Students have a diverse range of favorite foods and dishes to cook in their kitchens, from a simple American breakfast to cultural dishes that bring people closer to their origins.

Cooking is a hobby that allows people to be creative with their food and it is often relaxing or unwinding busy students. “Cooking is one of the fastest ways to flex your creative muscle mainly because you are playing with temperature, a very time sensitive mechanic. Whether it’s a stir-fry or a braised pork shoulder, the length of time for a piece of food is significantly shorter than any painting or sculpture,” according to myfoodjobrocks.com.

There are different levels of skill people have for cooking. One person could be microwaving food, and it would be considered cooking. “At its most basic, cooking means applying heat to food. Whether the food is baked, fried, sautéed, boiled, or grilled, it’s all cooking,” according to the site The Spruce Eats.

Italian food is a popular cuisine to cook within our school’s students, especially pasta. Freshman Heba Abdelhafiz and sophomore Keon Gray both chose pasta as their favorite meal to cook. “I like to cook any dish that has pasta in it. Pasta is one of my favorite foods and making pasta from scratch is fun,” Gray said.

Cooking can bring joyful memories and feelings to people who can successfully prepare a nice meal. Cooking “can be time consuming, but it is rewarding to be able to eat something that you made. There are many different ways to use pasta. You can make it with pesto, marinara, or bolognaise sauce,” Gray said.

Abdelhafiz likes to cook pasta for other reasons. “I like to cook pasta because it is an easy dish to make and there are many recipes and variations of pasta that are all delicious. I don’t cook for myself very often but I do like to cook and bake,” Abdelhafiz said.

Chen enjoys cooking foods that are more simple and quick. “I like to make fried eggs with soy sauce. It’s super easy and delicious; also I don’t really know how to cook,” Chen said.

Junior Gabriella Gbebry also prefers cooking more efficiently, but she still prioritizes the taste of the food as well. “I like to cook tacos. Tacos are very quick and easy to make, but also very tasty,” Gbebry said.

As people say, breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so it’s important to choose nutritious foods to start the day. “I like to cook bacon, eggs, and toast in the mornings. I’ll make bacon, eggs, and toast, to get a good amount of protein and carbs in to start my day so I’ll have energy for school,” senior Ellis Eppard said.

Cooking can be a way for families to connect and make meals together. “I really like to cook salmon belly in a garlic and soy baste and I also love making a traditional Slavic/Russian dish with my mom and grandma called shuba. Making shuba brings me closer to my family and also tastes great,” junior Alek Bargman said.