(source: The Bridge)
On a Saturday, I was at a farmer’s market in Stupava and saw these small cardboard containers brimming with raspberries and knew I had to get one. The next question was what to do with it, so I went on a quest to find a good recipe to do justice to the berries. I checked the cookbooks I have at home with no luck, so I turned to the online world. I ended up scrolling through social media and in the evening, I had over a dozen muffins to eat throughout the week.
As I was trying to find a recipe for the muffins, I came across an appetizing beetroot sandwich with a kimchi coleslaw and grilled cheese. And I thought, “this is such a great idea for me to use the sad-looking beet I’ve had in my fridge for a week”. It sounded like an unusual combination, but I was so pleased with the result. And not only that, I was also feeling such a sense of accomplishment: I solved a problem using what I had at home, learnt something new and ended up with a great idea I can use in the future. This is what I like about food, you can always be surprised, it doesn’t have to be complicated, and you learn and exercise your creativity.
Adventure begins
I moved out of my parents’ home at 18 years old when I started university over 1000km away (I’m Argentinian and distances can be quite long). That meant that I couldn’t rely on mom or dad’s cooking, although from time to time I did receive packages with some goodies. I knew that if I wanted to eat something decent and not spend all my student money on delivery, I had to get more serious with cooking. I fared well cooking the type of food I had eaten most of my life, which was heavily inspired by Italian and Spanish cuisines due to the waves of immigration the country received throughout its history. It all truly changed and took off when I left my home country and travelled more than 12000km to live in Slovakia.
Here I (re)discovered ingredients, connected more with nature and picked up new ways of doing things. For instance, I don’t think I’ve ever had as much cabbage in my life as in Slovakia. I learnt about wild garlic and different types of mushrooms, foraging and cooking with them as well. I picked fresh strawberries from fields near Nitra and made jam from scratch for the first time. I was gifted home-grown vegetables and fruits from friends’ gardens and had to put my creativity and research skills to use to find different ways to cook zucchinis (they gave me so many!).
Living in Slovakia even changed when I eat. In Argentina people usually have dinner after 9 pm because at around 5 pm we have “merienda” which is teatime. I quickly discovered that while I was having tea, my flatmates were having dinner and while I was having my dinner, they were winding down to go to bed. After an adjustment period, I’m very much Slovak in that sense now. The distance also meant that I had to learn how to make my own country’s traditional dishes without some ingredients, so it became a way to connect with my culture and showcase it to my friends.
(source: The Bridge)
Beyond recipes
When I cook, I gain all kinds of knowledge. Either reading instructions in a cookbook or a newspaper article, or by watching fiction, reality TV cooking shows or documentaries you are bound to pick up a few things more than inspiration or a recipe. There are ingredients and spices, cooking methods and techniques, utensils, different textures and adjectives to describe food, idioms and much more. Just one word of caution if you’d like to watch cooking shows, have snacks at hand or you’ll be hungry.
Through all that process of learning, discovering and adapting, I came to appreciate cooking rather than seeing it as a chore (most days at least). I try to really take in the moment and make the most out of the process. It’s a way of slowing down and being present, of engaging with your hands and other senses and sharing with others too.
This article was brought to you by Laura Cabada from the Bridge, specialist English language training centre providing high quality, professional English language courses for students with a variety of needs and goals.
