Aretha: From These Roots
This playlist was inspired by Aretha Franklin's memoir “From These Roots.” This playlist is made up of the musicians that Aretha Franklin looked up to and aspired to be when she was a child growing up in Detroit, Michigan.
One of my favorite past times is having friends over for dinner. I've had the experience of teaching myself how to cook since I have moved Taiwan seventeen years ago. And every year my cooking technique is slowly improving.
When I lived in America, I basically only knew how to cook the simplest of American. Boxed, canned or frozen foods were always the easiest to cook. I never took the initiative to learn how to cook was because being from California any style of food that I wanted to eat was there. I had the mindset that I didn't need to learn how to cook because anything I wanted to eat was within driving distance of anywhere I lived.
In 2007, when I moved to Taiwan, I realized I better learn how to cook and I better learn quick. I live in a small city on the southwest coast of Taiwan called Tainan. Tainan is the ancient capital of Taiwan and the oldest city in Taiwan. Needless to say, good western food. Nope!
Don’t get me wrong, the food in Taiwan is great. Kung pow chicken, beef noodle soup, soup dumplings, and fried rice are a few of my favorites. Lamb rice is incredible. The biggest problem was, at the time, that's all there was to eat. No hamburgers. No pizza. No hotdogs. Hell, not even a Costco.(Now there’s a Costco ten minutes from my house. Hallelujah!)
Actually, there was a Costco about an hour south of me and at the time all I had was a 100 cc Yamaha scooter that I used to ride an hour each way once or twice a month just so I could get my staples.
I quickly learned that if I wanted to eat Mexican food, Spanish food, American food or any other ethnic foods I better learn how to cook and do it myself.
In the beginning when I first moved to Taiwan, I'd became friends with a British guy named Graham. (We actually met at a McDonald's of all places.) He also enjoyed cooking. In the beginning, when I was learning to cook, we used to have dinner and movie nights at his house or mine every week. We would trade off cooking different dishes for each other. I learned things from him and he learned things from me.
Over the years, my cooking has improved a lot. My cooking really grew during the years of 2020 to now. During this time I spent more time on YouTube trying to emulate chefs and home cooks from around the world. It's amazing the content that is created on YouTube.
Now, one of my favorite things is inviting friends, especially couples over to my house for dinner so my wife and I can share our meals with friends. This playlist is the perfect companion for having a casual dinner with friends or a romantic dinner with your partner.
Is there really anything better than good music with a good meal with good friends?
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