Food is one of the greatest defining characteristics of a culture. Almost anyone knows what kind of food you mean if you say Mediterranean, Chinese, Thai, Italian, or Mexican. Sadly, most of Europe and North America don't have particularly well known forms of cuisine. Don't get me wrong, I know there are some fabulous dishes from any one of those countries. But, one can rarely relate to exactly what kind of food you mean by asking for something French or German.
I've become a big fan of Alice the Cook. She is "a cook who recreates recipes that have been used since the 1400s." Her work is fantastic and I often use her recipes when making a festival meal. I've also managed to get my hands on a useful translation of Apicius' cookbook and really enjoy the ancient Roman fare.
This has made me long for a style of cooking that defines my pagan culture. But, since I'm a syncretic pagan anyway, I suppose my cultural cuisine would be fairly syncretic as well.
I identify as a "kitchen witch," which to me means that a major part of my expression of faith happens when I cook. I actually have a gravy spell; it works. For me, a part of my identity as a pagan and a human being is the need to nourish others, be it spiritually, intellectually, or just plain old biologically. The same drive led me to become a teacher.
ReplyDeleteFor me as a Celtic Trad Witch, my defining cooking style is Scottish working class. It's the food I grew up eating when I needed comfort, and it still does the job. When a friend needs comfort, I'm in the kitchen blessing a big bowl of howtowdie or mince and tatties and maternally making sure they clean their plates.
To me, food is life - and not just literally. It's the linchpin that holds us together. I firmly think that if you can understand a culture's food, you can understand the culture. I'd love it if you'd share some of those ancient Roman recipes. That sounds like a great way to get into Cicero's brain. :)
Now that you mention it, I used to imagine when I was a kid that I was doing magic when I cooked. I'm not quite sure why I stopped ... the transition into atheism probably had something to do with it.
ReplyDeleteI quite agree with you Lynn. I really enjoy the fact that our family's "Joy of Cooking" book looks more like an well worn grimoire than a cookbook from so much use.
ReplyDeleteI've been trying to figure out how to share the Roman recipes without violating copyright. I may just have to re-interpret them.