Big Change in the Kitchen

Big changes make for big growth and since my big change of moving from the United States to Costa Rica, my skills in the kitchen have certainly grown. While I have always cooked food from scratch, rather than from a box or can, I have to admit that my repetoire was a little boring, ok, way boring. Then I moved to Costa Rica, and realized quickly that many of my standard ingredients for the things I liked to cook could not be found, or if so, I would have to drive over the mountains and through the woods to get them.

I was desperate at first. I had just come to terms with cooking, and then everything was, in my mind, turned upside down. At the same time I met people who were into doing things on their own. While I was worried about Italian Sausage for my meatloaf, they were finding ways to make cheese and soap. All at once, I became more interested in being in the kitchen. I was also motivated by the fact that I could not rush out to a restaurant for a particular craving. I learned quickly that I could substitute things for close enough ingredients. I caught on to something else too, all of the things that I always thought were way too complicated for me to attempt to do are actually quite simple. 

This has been one of the benefits of moving away from the city and all that it offers. I think my family is quite happy about it too. There has been something very satisfying in opening up this way. It's not to say that I couldn't have done the same in the city, I simply never had any interest in doing so. Last night I made my sister's famous Cauliflower soup. Part of the process was making a roux. I smiled to myself as the bubbling mixture turned from a liquid to a bubbling play-dough consistency. What a different person I have become.