F
ood remains one of the great connectors
of people, especially within families. The
kitchen often holds space for meaningful
conversations while savory meals simmer
on the stove or something sweet bakes in the oven,
filling a home with scents that linger long after
the meal is over. These moments are simple, yet
enduring. They live on in the memories of measuring
by instinct, stirring with care and patience, and
keeping a watchful eye until everything simmers just
right. Long after the holidays have passed and the
dishes are washed and put away, the recipes remain.
Family recipes are made of food, ingredients, and
instructions. But they are also archival records,
sharing a distinct history of cultural markers,
geneology, and survival. They are rites of passage
that create a sense of belonging across generations.
As personal and meaningful as cooking can
be, many family recipes are made with love
and intention, but don't quite have precision.
Measurements are often guessed, timers are set
with hope and experience. Success is determined
by memory. Because of this, many family recipes are
rarely written down. Maconite Stephanie Howard,
who has been cooking since she was five years old,
is working to preserve her family's culinary legacy
by holding on to her family's recipes from pre-World
War II eras, while also creating her own.
Though cooking was historically seen as the
province of women, Howard grew up in a household
where cooking was a gender neutral enterprise. "My
dad did the cooking, my mom did the baking, so we
were very nontraditional in that sense. Everybody
February/March 2026 | maconmagazine.com 85
