Paper #2

Victoria C Hernandez
OGL 350: Diversity and Organizations
Professor Patience Akpan-Obong, PhD
11/17/2023
 At first for this assignment, I wanted to try something new and make sure it was an
experience. I once remember eating Ethiopian food with my friend and I loved how interactive it
was. I recall asking for utensils and the server brought over “Injera” (Ethiopian sponge
flatbread). I’ll never forget what now has become a truly fond memory of mine. Unfortunately,
that place went out of business and has now become a boba tea house. Going into this
assignment I wanted to experience it in depth and really immerse myself with knowledge of
someone else’s culture. Of course, my go to ask was my roommate to see if she has any family
recipes we could try.
I’ve lived with Althea for a few years now and on occasion she will cook a favorite meal
of hers to share. I have also shared meals that I grew up with so that we keep our kitchen
interesting. Althea has been a vegetarian now for 12 years, which has been nice because she
has introduced more vegetarian meals to my diet. Translation. We eat a lot of salad. Truthfully,
we do eat a lot of salad, but a salad with a little pizazz. Althea suggested that we prepare this
salad because she was attending a Friendsgiving. So, we made this side dish for her to take to
dinner. We divided up the salad for her and a portion for the house and the salad was a hit!
When she returned from the night out, she mentioned her friends really enjoyed the dish.
Looking at the salad in appearance, it looked delicious especially with the bright pop of
pomegranates. I was excited to taste the candied walnuts and pears, although, I had never tried
thinly sliced pears in a salad before. Even with this apprehension, it had goat cheese, so I was
sold. I would recommend this recipe to others for their Friendsgiving’s.
The best part about preparing this recipe is listening to my roommate talk about the
heritage. She told me that traditionally her family makes it with feta but to offset the tartness of
the pomegranate she uses goat cheese instead. She also told me that the pomegranate is
associated with Greek mythology. The story is about Hades who takes, more like kidnaps,
Persephone to be his wife. Hades was trying to trick Persephone to consume something from
the underworld to entrap her in his realm. The last thing that Hades offered her was a
pomegranate. The story goes she ate six pomegranate seeds and now must remain in the
underworld for six months out of the year. During this time, her mother is saddened, and the
earth is filled with winter weather. I was really interested in this story because I had never heard
it before, so I investigated it further and learning about it made the salad seem more
interesting. I also love Greek mythology and pomegranates!
The recipe itself easily serves 6-8 people. The main ingredients are the following:

Bartlett pears, Crumbled goat cheese, Pomegranate seeds (More than six 😉), Spring mix,
Walnuts, Lemon juice, Honey, and Olive oil. Preparation is simple and straightforward. Don’t
forget to lightly season the vinaigrette to your liking with salt and pepper. My first bite was such
an explosion of flavor! I kept going back for more. Everything meshed so nicely. I’d easily
recommend this recipe for all year around. It is fresh enough for summer and perfect for fall.
 After reflecting on cooking with my roommate I realized how much I cherish the time we
spend doing things together. We have exposed each other to a lot of different traditions and
cuisines. You never realize how much of an impact people in your circle can have on your world.
My main takeaway from this cultural experience is that if I lived with someone who came from a
similar background, I wouldn’t have had the pleasure of learning so much about Greek food and
its culture. At the start of next month, I will be moving, and I will take the recipes we have
prepared with me to my new apartment. Memories were made here in Loma Linda, and I’ll
never forget them. Thank you, professor, for the opportunity to be creative and have a bit of fun
this session. This activity was refreshing. Below is a brief version of the more detailed recipe. I
hope you enjoy!

Taking a trip to flavor town?!--------

-1 large bag of mixed spring greens
- 3 Bartlett pears thinly sliced
-1 four-ounce container of goat
cheese
-1 eight-ounce container of
pomegranate seeds
-1/2 of chopped candied walnuts
Dressing
-1/4 Olive oil
-2 tablespoons of honey
-2 tablespoons of lemon juice
-Salt/ Pepper