I first taught Indiana Foodways in Spring 2020. In March, when the world shut down due to COVID-19, my students moved cooking labs into home kitchens and shared their recipes online. Cooking became detached from the inscribed lab space, but place-making and commensality was not lost. My students shared our class content and recipes with their families – sharing those meals enlarged our community and allowed all of us to partake in the smells, and sounds in each other’s kichens.

In Spring 2021, when the university opened up the possibility of hybrid teaching, my students and I resumed cooking in the lab. The soothing sounds of utensils clacking, pots stirring, and humans conversing were captured in this Earth Eats podcast. Since that time, we continue to practice together, making food, creating stories, and fomenting collegial relationships with each other. Community-making through cooking and sharing meals is integral to my course learning objectives. My students’ efforts (and tasty recipes) are a testament to their resilience, collegiality, and joy.

Olga Kalenntzidou

Immigrant, Indiana transplant, cook, and teacher