A door within a door. What does that mean? Doorways are thresholds that have significance in most ancient cultures, whether going in, or going out. One door closes, another opens. It’s what holds us in our private, intimate space we call home. In Morocco, the smaller door within the door represents humility.
One must bow to enter respectfully. We are all spending a lot of time behind closed doors. Some are more free to move than others. It’s a different reality. We must try and make the best of it. It has been a welcome respite surprisingly.. How we use this time will be determined by our presence of mind and willingness to be still~ as in not travel.
I thrive traveling, but I am finding out that I am thriving in a different way quite well right where I am. I am cooking like crazy. I have found an extreme joy in sourcing, creating, and extending the life of leftovers like a boss. It’s the first time in ages that I can actually see what I’m made of.
All of this travelling, how has this shaped me? What have I absorbed? What can I cook from scratch without looking at a recipe and have it speak the language of the table I took it from? How can I create the mood to bring that culture alive in my own kitchen? I have had to test myself on what I have learned.
And what have I learned? That I have cultivated an innate sense of what foods love each other. I know how to move in a kitchen with my head, heart and hands engaged. I know how to choose quality ingredients, make food taste delicious and how to be true to what makes a certain cuisine sing. I’m into fusion at times, but to play jazz, you have to know your notes. I have watched from the literal ground up what defines a cuisine through its cultural identity and diversity. I know where to take chances and when not to, to keep the integrity of a dish. Not too many ingredients, but the right ones and let the dish speak for itself.
Therefore, I encourage you to take this time to reflect on what you know, your experience, and feel confident to try some of the dishes that you have learned. Create an experience for yourself or your household that will transport you to
Italy,
Morocco,
Spain or
India or wherever you have loved. Find the music, set the table, and have fun creating the ambiance. It does transport you. I guarantee you.
So pop out that passport and transport yourself.. infuse your own kitchen with fabulous memories. Tell stories, write them if you can’t tell them and travel@home. It’s the here and now.. transforming the past into the present moment. Then we will be ready to walk out of the door into the future, a portal to freedom.
