This shoot with Cris Ian & Elena was a passion project for me. While I am building the food side of my book, I have wanted to photograph the making of this special dish from Colombia (Elena's country of origin), since Cris Ian told me about the first time they made it at home together. Cris and Elena met years ago online. Cris flew from a vacation in Nicaragua to Colombia to meet her, not knowing what to expect. To their surprise they hit it off. At first, Cris stayed in Colombia awhile, then Elena came and stayed in the US for a while so the two could get to know each other. Time went by and Cris and Elena ended up getting married. After the couple got hitched and citizenship processes began, the two weren't able to travel to Colombia for the holidays, one of Elena's favorite times of year there. Noticing she was a little down, Cris decided to bring some of Colombia to the US. He remembered the stew Elena talked about her grandmother making in a huge pot outside on Christmas. Sancocho. It's got a little of everything. Corn, potatoes, tomatoes, yuca, plantain, it's all in there. When Elena tried it, it brought back all her memories of home, of her grandmother and for a moment, she felt like she was there.