Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all

I love food, the more aware I become of what I am putting into my body the more fascinated I am by the fact that it will actually become my body. The energy that goes into food is equally important; from the happiness of the workers on the farms to love you add as the secret ingredient to any recipe, I always say a prayer before eating sending thanks to everyone who has come into contact with my food and Mother Earth for providing her bounty.

I have loved Indian food from the moment I tasted it and living in India has only showered me with gift of so many new dishes I now have in my repertoire. But if I’m being completely honest I am starting to miss some of the multicultural flavors life in Canada afforded me. Now that being said just when I think I’m completely bored with the food I’m introduced to something I have never had before and my tastebuds come alive with excitement and I instantly have a new favorite!

I’m often asked “what do you cook in Canada?” Everyone is always pleased when they find out I am vegetarian but the question isn’t easy to answer. Growing up with a mother who loved to experiment in the kitchen I developed a very diverse palate from an early age. I try to explain that I cook just about everything depending on my mood. But some people in India haven’t heard of (let alone tried) Polish perogies, Mexican burritos or Thai peanut curry. The occasional time I can find the right ingredients to create something from the mosaic of flavors from one of the cultures I have been exposed to my Indian family turns their nose up. At first I felt hurt by their reaction, ‘be more open’ I thought impatiently but then I remembered my Korean friends prefer Korean food while my Italian friends parents cook Italian every day of the week. I treasure having been exposed to a cornucopia of diversity it makes me adventurous when it comes to trying anything ‘different.’

What I do love is noticing the things that appear odd in comparison to how we eat certain foods. For instance chowmein; they add chili sauce, now this doesn’t come as any big surprise but ketchup then goes on top of that, then again I’ve seen people in Canada put ketchup on just about everything so why not chowmein? They also love salt and salty drinks. I can honestly say I had never tasted a salty drink before arriving in India and it’s not something I enjoy very much. Lassi (almost like a milkshake) is traditionally made sweet and salty, there is soda water with fresh squeezed lemon in which salt is added (my favorite sans salt) I’ve even witnessed locals add salt to ‘Thumbs Up’ which is the Indian version of Coke or Pepsi. It makes me wonder what they might see as strange in Canadian eating habits?