Inspiration has a way of showing itself to me. As a woman, I wear a hat of many trades and I can say that I am inspired by most things that bring me a challenge and a reward. Hey, even if I shout and cry, I know I can find a way to get through it and grow by that. To be inspired is like driving a car on cruise-control on a long country road. You have a chance to control your emotions, to think, to breathe, to observe, to realize that you're here to experience this existence as you keep moving forward. I can say that cooking is a spiritual process and I'm here to tell you why.
My on-going inspiration are my weekly visits to the grocery store. I thoroughly get excited about what I am going to cook for my family, and so I look for many different (and of course, easy) recipes online and through my old-school cookbooks. So I call this the "mediation" stage of cooking. This is my absolute meditation stage because my husband comes into the kitchen and says "I thought you were going to the store... 20 minutes ago." Ha! I am such a deep thinker when it comes to preparing a meal and what ingredients to get! Also what comes into this meditation process is the thought of how long this meal will take, what dish to make first as the rest follows, what pans to use, and what drink will go well with this meal. Questions even appear like: "Can I trust this recipe?", "Maybe I should check the reviews", "What are the other recipes saying?", "Should I call my mom and ask how to make this?", "Should I call GP?" (Gwendolyn Pruitt, my formerly known mentor and artist friend, who zodiac is the same as mine [Greek Zodiac: Taurus, Kemetic Zodiac: Imen], and can grill a MEAN LAMB CHOP), "Should I just go with my intuition?".
-Yeah, just go with whatever destiny the food is pulling you to and ask those questions! That's what I learned as an Initiate with The Earth Center (M’TAM School of Kemetic Philosophy & Spirituality offers the initiatic education as taught in the traditions of Kemet since the Pharaonic period.), to always ask honest questions and we will find out so much information that we thought haven't existed. Cooking comes with a technical and logical process. The emotional drive behind cooking is the mid-process when you start smelling the fragrance of the food in the kitchen and the duration of enjoying that meal. There is no absolute emotional process to cooking, such as spirituality. And these are the three questions we have to ask ourselves to avoid emotional behavior that the Prophet, Neb Naba Lamoussa Morodenibig left us with:
Has this been done before?
The one who did it how do they end up?
Do I want the same results for myself?
We have to ask ourselves this before every action we commit. We have to ask ourselves these questions upon food preparation. We cannot be impulsive when it comes to cooking, it's all planned out and we just have to follow the recipe. As it goes for the Kem following the 77 commandments. This is how I think, and I can say that my process of when I become a professional chef or even a nutritionist, shall be an initiation process for me.
Fun Fact: I grew up watching The Food Network channel, and if you could guess my favorite shows, we should become friends! THIS CALLS FOR SOME FOODIE MARATHONS! My favorite shows were 30-minute meals with Rachel Ray, Barefoot Contessa with Ina Garten, Iron Chef, and Good Eats with Alton Brown. These shows definitely inspired me as a child to always cook and even suggest certain recipes to my mom. Believe it or not, me and my mom's conversation is 85% worth of food and recipe discussion. That is a strong bond we both share. Maybe I should have a had a special notebook of recipes to quickly write down the recipes as I was watching these shows like she told me! We def have to listen to our moms sometimes...
So, This weekend I traveled with my husband and 1 year old daughter to visit his mother in Sandy Springs, Georgia for a vacation weekend. We don't get to see her as much because she works internationally. We travel to different places to reunite with her, his older sister, his niece, and sometimes his older sister's husband. This was our second time doing that and it was right on time because I was so ready to travel somewhere. I can lose inspiration just by being in one place for a long time. Omg, traveling with a 1 year old was irritating but a perfect time for me to learn some deep patience as a mother. I know it was a learning experience for my husband as well. Our little one is growing to communicate more, acting out more, and wandering off more, but that is another story! We took an Uber to this house in Sandy Springs and once we drove up the driveway I knew that I would enjoy this weekend.
We took a tour around this beautiful 5-bedroom, 2 living-roomed, 2 balcony, 3-leveled home. Including a back-yard patio space with a hammock, bonfire pit, and a water creek. Amazing! Such a homey space to find some peace within yourself. Oh, and I did not include their big kitchen for me to cook in! Omg, and they had a Breville juicer (in which I did not use like I wanted to)!
I decided to bless the home with my crystal bowl and my cooking skills! Funny that my husband's older sister suggested seafood and that's exactly what I made. This home was a perfect platform for me to express my inner chef!
Before I came to Georgia I was on a mini binge of watching Chef's Table: Season 3 on Netflix. This episode absolutely blew my perspective away on being spiritual and a chef at the same time. Basically affirming that cooking can be a meditation. Based on what you are cooking can affect your body, mind, and spirit. They blessed me with an opportunity of watching this enlightening story of monk-chef Jeong Kwan.
One thing that inspired me the most was that she grows most of her ingredients and cooks for the Buddhist temple. Her spiritual life started at 17 years old, she left
everything along with her family as the temple took her in. She explained how this lifestyle challenged her to the point where she was close to going back home but the door was still open for her to be at the temple. There she cooks temple-food and give lectures at a culinary university on vegetarian food. She also touched on the negative connotation of ego and how the ego does not drive her to cook. In the traditions, ego means focusing on the soul and the quality of self, we can say that this is a good thing. The ego is not only focusing on uplifting yourself but uplifting your community. We have to understand that we need each other because everyone's contribution being brought into the society equals a great value. We all play a huge role in this human existence.
That's what spirituality teaches us, that this experience can be a challenge. There will be times where we feel that giving up is an option. We have to remind ourselves that this is the uphill path that our ancestors would need for us to walk.
LET'S GET TO COOKING
Vacation Home: Comforting Seafood Dinner
Shrimp and Corn Chowder with Mashed Potatoes
I'm always excited about corn chowder because I love the creamy and corny, sweet taste it has. The dill weed sets it off in this recipe forreal! This was actually my first time making corn chowder and this was a seafood dinner so I had to add the shrimp into the chowder. I found the perfect recipe off of my favorite food site, foodandwine.com.
"Simmering dill seeds with corn and shrimp makes a delectable soup. Instead of the traditional cubes of potato throughout the chowder, we've put a mound of creamy mashed potatoes in the center of the bowl. This comforting dish is a meal in itself." - foodandwine.com
I didn't use dill seeds because Publix didn't have it available, so I replaced it with dill weed, but everything else was almost as followed. Check out the recipe below!
Ingredients
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
3 1/2 cups canned low-sodium chicken broth or homemade stock
1 teaspoon dill weed
2 pounds red new potatoes (about 12), cut in half, or boiling potatoes (about 6), cut into quarters
2 teaspoons salt
Fresh-ground black pepper
1/2 stick of butter, at room temperature
1 cup light cream or milk
3 cups fresh (cut from about 5 ears) or frozen corn kernels
1 1/2 pounds medium shrimp, unshelled
1 tablespoon of chopped fresh parsley
Directions
In a large saucepan, heat the oil over moderately low heat. Add the onion, carrot, and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the broth and dill weed and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, put the potatoes in a medium saucepan of salted water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes and put them back into the saucepan along with 3/4 teaspoon of the salt and a pinch of pepper. Mash the potatoes over very low heat, gradually incorporating the butter and 3/4 cup of the cream. Keep warm.
Add the corn and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt to the broth and simmer, covered, until the corn is just tender, about 15 minutes. In a food processor or blender, puree the chowder and then pour it back into the saucepan. Add the shrimp and the remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt. Bring to a simmer and cook until the shrimp are almost done, about 1 minute. Stir in the remaining 1/4 cup cream, the parsley, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper and bring just back to a simmer. Reheat the potatoes, if necessary. Spoon them into the center of four bowls and pour the chowder around them.
WALA, DAT WAY! UP NEXT...
Butter Baked Snow Crab, Lime and Butter Scallops, and Baked Asparagus
I was pretty nervous about making these crab legs because you can either steam em' or bake em'. Being that it was my first time making official crab legs, I decided to bake them. My favorite way of having crab legs are baked because you have the upmost opportunity of letting them marinate in heat along with the butter, garlic, and parsley. YUM! Here's how I made my snow crab legs taste like we were at a restaurant!
Snow Crabs - Garlic Butter Baked Crab Legs
(For a Family of 4)
Ingredients
6 lbs Snow Crab Legs
1⁄2 cup butter (unsalted)
1⁄2 head garlic, about 5 garlic cloves, chopped
1⁄2 lemon juice
1⁄8 cup extra virgin olive oil
Sprinkle Old Bay seasoning
sea salt (optional)
fresh chopped handful of parsley
Directions
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Meanwhile, grab yourself a small saucepan. On med low heat, melt the butter. Add the garlic and LIGHTLY saute'. Squeeze in the lemon juice. Turn the heat to low and let those flavors mesh until the oven is nice and hot. Toss in as much salt (to taste) and add the chopped parsley. Then whisk in that olive oil with a fork. Turn off your burner.
Arrange your tasty snow crab legs in two 9x13 baking dishes with aluminum foil (for sealing), brushing or pouring over each leg with the sauce. Pour any remaining sauce over those legs. Now toss the pan into the oven on the center rack.
Bake your crabs for about 25 minutes or so (depending on how thick the legs you have are), brushing the sauce from the bottom of the pan onto the legs every 5-7 minutes. Remove from oven. Sprinkle with a few pinches of parsley for garnish.
Lime and Butter Scallops
Now, let me tell you! When I say scallops are my jaunt (jaunt meaning "joint" also meaning "This right here is a hit" or originally meaning "really good".) Yes, they are one of my favorites and it is a quick dish to prepare! Scallops makes my mouth water and brings a smile to my face every time. Especially with this buttery, lime citrus taste. It is absolutely amazing with it's soft and thick- with a bit of crisp on both sides- indulgence, we can say that this actually tops off the seafood portion of this meal. And a very good breakfast left-over for scallops and grits. Watch out for your scallops because they may get missing!
Ingredients
1 tablespoon of unsalted butter (or you can use left over butter that's in the bottom of your crab legs pan)
1 pound scallops
Pink Himalayan salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced
Juice of 2-3 limes
Parsley (optional)
Directions
Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in lime juice.
Remove the small side muscle from the scallops, rinse with cold water and thoroughly pat dry.
Season scallops with salt and pepper, to taste. Working in batches, add scallops to the skillet in a single layer and cook, flipping once, until golden brown and translucent in the center, about 1-2 minutes per side.
Serve scallops immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.
Baked Asparagus
In most fancy expensive seafood restaurants, the most common vegetable to pair with scallops are asparagus! I was never interested in eating asparagus until I went on a house-date and he cooked steak fajitas with asparagus. Oh wow, my life changed after that night. Here are baked asparagus to accompany this Comforting Seafood Dinner!
Ingredients
1 bunch of Asparagus
4 Tablespoons (up To 5 Tablespoons) Olive Oil
Kosher Salt To Taste
Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste
Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. After you wash the asparagus thoroughly, stack a bunch together and lop off the tough/thick bottom an inch or so. Spread out the asparagus in a single layer on a baking sheet. Pat it as dry as you can, as you don’t want any water to “steam” the asparagus in the oven. Sprinkle the asparagus with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Then generously drizzle olive oil all over the asparagus. Roast the asparagus for about ten minutes. I actually cooked the asparagus with the crab legs. The secret here is for the oven to be very hot so the asparagus can begin to brown on the outside without overcooking and getting too flimsy. Enjoy!
ENJOY
[This photo links to a powerful video, "Credo Mutwa on Dolphin's Secrets".] Shout out to my ocean family, The Dolphins. These dolphins were located at the Georgia Aquarium. May we become more attuned with you. Dolphins are known to be one of the most spiritual water mammals on planet earth. May we learn more from them and what messages they bring to us!
During this process of cooking the Comforting Seafood Dinner, I was patient and taking my precious time. There are moments when we may feel stressed during our cooking process because it can become intimidating to cook for very particular taste buds. It's all about putting in positive energy into your meal. This energy does emit from your hands. It's so important to keep a clean space and a clean mind in the kitchen to get close to perfection. I wish you the best experience while fixing this meal for yourself, family, friends, or your spouse. Feel free to comment and send feed-back!