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Travel Cuisine

an attempt

By Rosie VanSciverPublished 3 years ago 4 min read
2
Travel Cuisine
Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash

I don’t currently have the means to travel the world, like I would like. One day, I hope to be able to build a tiny house boat to travel by water as well as to own an RV to travel by land. I would love nothing more than to have a full passport. However, at this point in my life, that is not possible. Of course, there are many ways to travel without breaking the bank. One of the ways I have attempted to explore is moving to unknown places in my country. Many times, throughout my life I have simply pointed to a map and moved there, with little to no real plan. It always seems to work out somehow and I have been able to see much of the United States this way. Once my children were born, I tended to opt more towards road trips. Whenever we had the chance, we would go within a day’s trip from our home and take time to explore every aspect of our location’s offerings. This is how my children also became foodies in their own right.

Being able to try foods from different states and regions was just the beginning. Since we tended to live in richly diverse neighborhoods, we happily made friends with people who came from all over the world. With them, delicious recipes and wonderful friendships. The people that I asked were typically more than happy to share recipes, cooking styles, tips, tricks, etc. with me. It opened my eyes, and my spice cabinet, to so many new things! I learned the subtle differences between the types of “Spanish rice” dishes, and how they differentiate by country. I tried things I never would have thought that I would, like candied minnows and chocolate covered insects. Fun fact, candied minnows taste like teriyaki beef jerky! I have also learned that I prefer foods and flavors from the middle east and Mediterranean.

Learning different recipes and techniques sometimes requires the need to use tools that one may not typically use on a daily basis. However, using them, and having access to such a variety of them, gives me a vast amount of cooking knowledge and ability where the average Joe may find themselves lacking. I count myself blessed to be able to experience all of this, for myself as well as for my children. We all really love the hands-on approach that many countries use in their cooking styles. We also love the whole, fresh ingredients. Because of this, we have expanded our knowledge and done the research to be able to grow our own food. We started way too large and unmanageable at first, but with patience and through trial and error, we managed to find a method that works best for us. This entails the least amount of time working the land, with the most yield of fresh produce and herbs.

My children have gotten really into foraging for edible things, too. However, this sometimes ends up with them returning with empty baskets and full bellies. Their newest interest, that expands on this, is farming actual animals. For now, we are working on building a hen-house. We will try to start small but that never lasts. We dream big! My husband has even been able to successfully add items, to our garden, that are considered difficult to grow for our environment.

One downfall to all the delicious foods that we have been able to try, is being able to grow the ingredients to recreate the dishes we love. For instance, we have found that many of our favorite Italian dishes require “Jersey tomatoes” and we currently live in Louisiana, where Creole tomatoes are the norm and growing “Jersey tomatoes” is extremely tough due to the climate. We previously thought it’d be a garden oasis, with all the humidity. However, there is such a thing as too much humidity; too much moisture. Rotting produce is a big issue that we currently have, due to too much moisture. To make up for this, we are looking into jarring and canning our own sauces, jellies, jams, etc. This way, we can harvest everything at its peak ripeness and it’ll keep without rotting on the plant.

Our minor travels, and ever-growing experiences and skillsets, are not only filling up our stomachs but also our hearts, minds, and souls. These experiences are shaping us into better human beings. We have certainly learned to keep an open mind, not only with trying new foods, but also in meeting new people and learning about their cultures. I love that I have been able to make friends in some of the strangest of situations. It makes life perfect in its own imperfect way. Because of everything that I have learned and experienced thus far, I will continue to work hard and save to one day fulfill my dreams to travel the world and experience what every culture has to offer….especially when it comes to a delicious dish!!

humanity
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About the Creator

Rosie VanSciver

I've lived one hell of a life....

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