Mother may have been very creative in the kitchen and as I’ve written before on this blog, her necessity to feed her sixteen children was likely the mother (pun intended) of her innovations in the kitchen. The way I see it, then, it’s thanks to Mother that I’m creative in the kitchen. This is not to say that I haven’t worked hard on honing my ability through making up the close to 150 recipes I’ve shared with you on this blog, plus many others that I make during the week when the pantry is diminishing, my energy at the end of a long, hard work day is depleted, and my non-family needs dinner. But, I think there’s still something to be said for Mother and what she naturally passed on to me as a talent.
That being said, thank you Mother, this weekend, someone outwardly recognized my ingenuity in the kitchen. I won the Most Creative title at the Union Square Main Streets 2010 What the Fluff? Festival. (http://www.unionsquaremain.org/) From among what looked like at least twenty – thirty entrants in the contest, the judges, among whom were two of my favorite local chefs Wil Gilson Executive Chef of Garden at the Cellar http://www.gardenatthecellar.com/home/and Jason Santos most recently of runner-up fame in the most recent season of Hell’s Kitchen (http://www.fox.com/hellskitchen/)who is also Executive Chef of Gargoyles on the Square (http://www.gargoylesrestaurant.com/) chose my Fluff-n-figs (pronounced as if you’re swearing) as the Most Creative. While I didn’t win the title of Overall Winner, I think I appreciate winning the Most Creative title even more because, well, it’s what I strive for in the kitchen more than anything else. Plus, the dessert tasted damn good too, if I do say so myself.
As my readers undoubtedly have noticed, I’ve been M.I.A. I’ve been depressed about the blog. I wanted badly for someone other than me and my friends to say, “Great blog!” or “Awesome dessert!” I craved illustrious recognition. I try not to judge myself for wanting credit from the important people but when I was in the darkness, I beat myself up for wanting that too even though it’s a normal human desire to be rewarded and acknowledged by someone other than ourselves, friends and family for hard work, for being good at something, anything.
In reflecting and praying my way out of being down, I asked God to send me a prize, a win of some kind. To some, that may seem like a shallow prayer but as I learn more about my Higher Power, I understand the subjective, objective standard that governs my relationship. Allow me to explain briefly: while each person who so chooses can relate to whomever s/he chooses as a divine being, the manner in which that connection happens is an individual matter. For me, God is like a good friend and a caring mother who knows me very well and wants the best for me in every way, including even those little ways that seem silly in the grand scheme of things but subjectively are oh so important to me.
I imagine that my wanting to be noticed has some to do with winning things as a child, when being smart and talented brought at least some joy to my miserable household. I felt important too, for having something to give that was of me and made me happy too. If I sociologically analyze the Trinidadian people, because of our how tiny we are as a twin-island nation of 1.5 million, I would see us as the world saw our football team in the 2008 World Cup, Soca Warriors, a feisty, hard-hitting competitor, fighting to be known in the bigger soccer scene. I identify with this national spirit as a cook, a force to be reckoned with in the kitchen even against those who are considered professionals or who have more ability and experience on paper.
That being said, the win in the Fluff Festival this weekend gave me the boost I needed to get back to blogging about food, culture and identity. Maybe it’s because I felt healed of the wound of anonymity. I enjoyed putting together a unique meal and sharing it with you. The mashed green bananas, actually a version of a recipe my mom made for me when I visited this summer (surprising for my mother who is not usually adventurous in the kitchen.) She came up with a take on mashed potatoes made from another starch. The jerky I put in the chicken stew is the kind of ingenuity I like to exercise in the kitchen – shocking the eaters and the readers of the recipe with that secret, unanticipated ingredient that added some serious depth of flavor. Adding the mixed herbs and green peppers to the biscuits are also what excite me about treating my kitchen like a chemistry lab – you can take a simple thing like biscuits and turn it into something extraordinary. Dessert of course, is my award-winning Most Creative (yes, I am very proud of this; I don’t mean to boast) Fluff-n-figs.
Dear readers, I am sorry for staying away so long. I hope you’ll forgive me and join me in re-connecting in the joint creative experience of cooking, and musing about our individual and collective cultures and identities. I promise that together, we’ll make it to 52 weeks, maybe not back-to-back as I’d once hoped but in due time, bit(e)-by-bit(e) creatively.
To Good Eats and Creativity,
Kathy- Ann
MENU
Green Pepper and Herbes de Provence Biscuits
Chicken Stew (Crock Pot Recipe)
Great idea. Cooking and writing are a great way to live a creative life. I’m glad you got the award and congratulations you needed that but don’t stop writing and cooking even if no one says anything. Good job!
Thank you!