Tiny kitchens, all over the world have taught me how to navigate the kitchen “nuances.” A custard cooked in a London flat on an induction stovetop will not cook the same as a gas cooktop in Maine!
Humor helps everywhere… in the kitchen, at the table, in life.
My roots lay in the American “Deep South” where dishes are usually hearty and made to feed the masses. Think heaping portions of breaded and deep-fried fare, often poured out of a box, bag, can, or jar. As my hometown moves away from its pastoral heritage towards the air-conditioned aisles of the super market, we seem to be losing our connection to the land and its seasons along the way.
Too often I haven’t questioned the way things are. I just accepted everything as that’s “just how it’s done” or “just how it is,” and a lot of bad stuff slipped through the cracks while I wasn’t looking.
Luckily, life is about learning and growing. And that’s what exactly what I’ve aimed for… often with heaps of self-doubt and, yes, many failures. Through the different homes that have opened their doors to me, I have been able to see how other people live. And whether it was in a foreign country or four houses down the block, I’ve learned that everyone has a different way of doing things.
Although frustrating at times, the benefit to living with diversity is that it teaches us to rethink our presumptions about how life can be lived. Thanks to the many unsung domestic cooks I’ve met along the way, I’ve seen that it is not only possible to make any dish from scratch but that cooking this way will allow you to appreciate food in all its complexity.
Food made from simple, seasonal ingredients just tastes better and has a positive effect long after you’ve pushed your chair back from the table.
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My niece has given me another reason to care about what I pass on to future generations, and getting her to eat healthy foods has also taught me the importance of how we frame new experiences
