SOUL FOOD (the third one) |
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Email 3 themes: Just actual food really read time: 5mins |
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Although 'Soul Food' is to me, about any form of nourishment for the soul, this time I want to talk about the edible kind. Last time I spoke about the distinct lack of love in the process of making food during my short stint in a commercial kitchen. I think that food is a wonderful love language and I've been using it to really nourish myself lately. Here's a series of simple but wholesome meals I've made over the past week: |
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Left to right: chop salad with feta, my new discovery of couscous for breakfast!, a dimple dhal with pita, and potatoes with turmeric, greens and egg. (a couple of these recipes shared at the end!) |
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These meals are only from the past week because I've spent a lot of this month living in a state of constant stress and scarcity. I was working at a new bar job and living off the same pesto pasta every night whilst juggling a lot of other work that wasn't paying. After a long battle, I made the decision to cancel the film I had in production. I couldn't feel better about it, to be honest. |
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I had been trying to make 'Moving Woman' since covid prevented me from making it as my final project for my BA. It would have been a short film exploring womanhood through poetry, improvised performance and an overarching story derived from my own experiences and research of other women's stories. You can find the alternative piece I made during the pandemic restrictions here. What I ultimately realised is that creativity should bring joy. It should be a freeing, expressive experience that is satisfying. I am more than prepared to work hard for the right project, we can't constantly sustain that joy throughout, but it should prevail. This time it didn't, the ship has sailed and knowing that not making it no longer brings me disappointment is a huge achievement. Now, I'm focusing on the thing that brings me the most creative joy: painting and nourishing myself. I hope to form a bigger project around painting instead of the film and already it feels so much more natural. |
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Coming back to my overarching question: How can we find nourishment, joy and satisfaction through a creative life? Sometimes with radical rest, enjoying cooking good meals and painting. I am happy again, coming back to myself. Surprisingly, I also don't mind the bar job - it gives me separation to be boundlessly creative when I'm off work without so much financial worry. I'll also keep you posted about my sound therapy next time, I'm still looking for a space for group sessions in Bristol... |
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This time my recommendations are recipes: - I haven't honestly cooked any of these yet, but I'm in support of this article and the lovely images: Plant-Based Food for Sensual Satiation.
- Chop Salad. I used to make this with my mum when I was a kid, we would get a smorgasbord of vegetables (I remember it always included apples, mint and feta) and chopping them up all together on a big chopping board. The secret is to include the mint or other herbs whilst chopping so the flabour mixes across the veg. It's really refreshing and crunchy for a summers day. especially if you don't have much appetite. Here's a recipe that's as close as I could find. Basically use whatever veg you like :)
- My Breakfast Couscous recipe: I found this by accident, but apparently Jamie Oliver also makes it. I cook my couscous as normal but include a stick of cinnamon in the pot (also include a few small pieces of lavender if you like!) the result is an aromatic, comforting, fluffy base. I then layer the couscous (hot or cold) with granola, cashews, cherries, a bit of honey and pour hazelnut milk over it. I much prefer it to porridge or oatmeal. You could totally use whatever toppings you like, almond butter is another beautiful combo!
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Please tell me if you make any of the recipes, I would love to see/hear what you think or how you interpreted them! If you'd like to show some support, I now have ko-fi, a platform were you can donate the price of a coffee to support creators you like. You can give a one-off or monthly donation and it'll help me continue doing things like this! |
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