How Losing My Limbs Turned Me Into a Different Kind of Cook
January 30, 2026 at 09:46PMYewande Komolafe, a cooking columnist for The New York Times, was born with a blood disorder. In late 2023, she was hospitalized; since then, medical treatments have profoundly changed her relationship to her body and, by extension, to her cooking practice, an evolution she recounts in this short, measured essay.
Now so much of my life is spent leaning on others, and making food is no longer the solitary and meditative act it once was. It calls to mind a phrase in Yoruba, “A jọ ṣé pọ̀,” meaning, “We do it together” or “We collaborate.” This has become a refrain that I recite while I’m writing recipes, taking meals with loved ones and performing the once simple tasks of everyday life.
from Longreads https://longreads.com/2026/01/30/yewande-komolafe-health-crisis-cooking/
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