Day 7: July 2022

There aren’t that many things that unite my family, my siblings. There are five of us in total, in varying degrees of blood relation, temperaments, contact and geographical proximity. Two divorces. Some grudges, resentments, hugs, tears, love, yadda yadda yadda.

But there are at least two things that unite us. Always. One is the Christmas cookies I’m going to make tomorrow, decorate on Thursday with Theo, and which will (hopefully) start him on his lifelong path of anise cookie-dependent Christmases. The other is this: the best thing I cooked in July 2022.

Seven. Layer. Bean. Dip.

Summer is not complete without it. Hasn’t been complete without it for at least 30 years. And every year I make it, I search my email for a decade+ old email chain between all of the siblings— a debate on the order of ingredients, on salsa v. fresh tomatoes, refried v. pinto beans, green onions v. cilantro. I reread that chain and I decide which path to take, knowing that they’re each of them correct, that every one of them takes each of us back to summers long-gone. Together. Fights and bruises and hugs and kisses and, well, bean dip for all. 💫💥⚡️