Brownies. Food Narrative. Essay #1

It is said that chocolate is the key to a woman’s heart. This may be true but, however, brownies are the key to my relationships. When I was in middle school almost every Friday or Saturday night, m friends and I would have slumber parties, and brownies were the main ingredient. At one point or another in the night my friends and I would gather around the island in my kitchen and bake brownies. It was the time we spent sitting around the island, waiting for the brownies to be ready, where we would have our most famous conversations. These were the conversations that I have remembered the most over any other conversation in my lifetime. These conversations brought more laughter and tears from laughter than I have ever and probably will ever experience. I have made my closet friends through these conversations waiting on the brownies. The most vivid night was the night before we received our letters from the high schools we applied to. We stayed up half the night talking about our future and recollecting on the amazing times we had spent together. We promised that no matter were we ended up we would still continue our brownie ritual every once in a while.

The brownies that we made every time were Duncan Hines’ Family Style Double Fudge Brownies. Not only are the directions on the box but there are basically only three easy to do steps taken to make the brownies. The Duncan Hines brand is our favorite and the one we had all the time because we knew we always could depend on the brownies tasting great and satisfying our late night hunger. They were always soft and warm inside and out. The brownies had enough chocolate for us chocolate lovers but not to much to the point where we would be sick after the large number of brownies we had stuffed down.

One Friday night we were out of brownie mix so my friends and I tried to test out a new and healthier food. We started eating grapes and started having something we call “grape wars”. “Grape wars” are when you stick the grape in between your jaw on either side of your mouth. The end of the grape with the opening is the side you place facing toward the entrance of your mouth. You then slam your jaw shut forcing grape juice to spray out. We began attacking each other with the grape juice. We would see who could get the biggest hit or whose juice would fly the farthest. We soon learned that the nights with grapes were not as fun as our nights making brownies. The grapes would leave the kitchen counter and ourselves sticky, our jaws would become locked after awhile, our conversations were shorter, and we were left hungry since we never really ate the grapes just sprayed the juice out of them.

The brownies define the most important relationships in my life and they also display many of the same qualities as those girls that I have spent most of my life celebrating with. Brownies are considered a party food which explains the outgoing personalities that my friends and I all contain. Each one of us are warm on the inside just like the brownies we make. We are friendly to each person we meet in life and attract people through our positive characteristics. This is similar to how brownies attract many through their gewy insides and other delicious traits. My friends and I are also extremely dependable. Brownies are dependable in the sense that are always are satisfying and taste delectable. However, the most important similarity between us and brownies is that when brownies are sliced into pieces they tend to break down and collapse. If my best friends and I were to be sliced apart, we would collapse. We are each others support system and keep each other put all together.

Having something that is chocolate and sweet to describe who I am states three main points about myself and my life. First, I am a child at heart. I am the little kid who sneaks the sweets around my mom. The child who's problems disappear from the delicious bite of chocolate. I am one who becomes happy at the littlest things and does not become discouraged from the small problems that life throws at us. Another characteristic of myself is that food is one of the main centerpieces of my relationships. Sitting down around food can allow the conversation to flow in any direction. In my experiences, food allows people to open up and become more comfortable with themselves and their surroundings. Food has allowed my relationships with my friends to flourish and go in many directions it would not travel otherwise. The third and final main point to my relationship with the brownie is that my life is very “sweet”. I am extremely blessed with my surroundings. I am a very positive person and I live for the sweet things that life provides for me. I have been given a great family and amazing friends that I cherish and I thank God everyday for his gifts to me and my loved ones.

Now that I have grown up and do not have slumber parties anymore, my younger sister and her friends have taken their place around the island in my kitchen. They have replaced my friends and I’s spot. They have started creating memories of their own with a food that describes their own relationship. What they have not found yet is that they will also remember those nights around the island for the rest of their lives.

As my friends and I have now all gone our separate ways, this winter break we will meet yet another time and spend time around the island table once again. We will share our stories from our time apart while we wait for the brownies to bake. Opening up enough to allow the brownies to bring us close together as if we have never been apart.