Food

This is a chapter from my third book called Love letters

Our love affair with food started from the beginning of humankind when Eve could not resist the deliciousness of that rosy apple. It is human nature to love food. It is necessary for our survival. We cannot live without food. When we eat food, our brains release dopamine, a neurotransmitter that is associated with pleasure and reward. Food is often associated with culture, traditions and celebration. What is Eid without sawine or Divali without curry or Christmas without pastelle or Carnival without pelau?

Our love and need for food means we have to grow lots of it. My first experience with growing food started in primary school when we learnt to plant red beans in a container with toilet paper. We tended to our beans and watched them grow with amazement. We could have been the future farmers of our country for all we know. I did not become a farmer but in my adult years I have experimented with different crops in my home garden like pumpkin, ochro, tomato, bodi and pimento. From the pimentos I would make a delicious and fresh hot sauce.

I like my belly. I don't like having a belly and some abs would look nice on me though. They say a hungry man is an angry man and no one wants to be that angry man so we show our food some love. I love the convenience of food delivery apps. The wonders of the internet and technology has made it easier to show our food some love. I once had a food blog where I wrote about my escapades with cooking food. My love for food is also local for the usual like doubles, roti and pelau. Who can resist a bake and shark once they have gone to Maracas beach? How about corn soup from the Savannah?

Food is like a friend. For example, the down times when ice cream was there to pick me up like that Hagen Daz brownie macchiato. When money is tight we have to be creative and flexible with what we eat. Crix and cheese and Milo. Sada roti and fry aloo. Corn beef and macaroni. Dumplings and dasheen bush bhagi. They say we should eat to live and not live to eat. This is good advice and calls for some tough love. Everything in moderation and balance is the key. They say we are what we eat. Well I am delicious. I am a snack. Oh yeah, I can be funny too.

Growing up I loved snacks. Corn curls and cheese balls and Bongo and kiss cake were my regulars. My mom tells me that I used to tell her that my brain could not function without the snacks when I was studying for school so she had to run quick quick by the parlour and trust some snacks. Food brings people together. Cesar Chavez has said that, "If you really want to make a friend, go to someone’s house and eat with him … The people who give you their food give you their heart." All this talk of food has made me hungry. My stomach growls a serenade to the food I love.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My notes from the book "Lessons from my life"

My notes from this book. If you are interested in what I noted then give the book a read. This is the best book I have read to date. I loved all of it and I will work to put what I learnt into practice. God bless the author Ahmad. Free on Amazon Kindle - https://a.co/4FW6x4L Faith is not theoretical, it must be lived by Focus on improvement Treat others as you would like to be treated Values-based vision guided by faith in God Aim to mitigate the daily struggles of others There is potential within us all Life comprises of faith as the inner dimension and practice as the outer dimension Believers must be exemplars The true value of the Quran is in its ability to change people's lives Islam is a religion of unity We must deal with differences of opinions in a civilised manner Do what you can and when you can because perfection is an attribute of God alone Believers are constant givers Success = the coming together of souls and ideas Humility is required for this type of work (dawah w
Read more

My notes from the book "Micro Habits"

My notes from this book. If you are interested in what I noted then give the book a read. I love self help books. Change begins with me. I love learning from others. I will review this list every morning and see how many I can accomplish and even add my own micro habits from time to time. Really has me thinking about how small steps can lead to big results. Free on Amazon Kindle - https://a.co/fzfRhjX Turning our life around takes time Small and manageable steps can help us avoid giving up early in the game Focus through minimising distractions and temptations Do some small exercise as soon as you wake up The effectiveness of working out in the morning is backed by several studies Morning workouts can help curb your appetite Try less sugar. Sugar masks the taste and flavour of the food. Try balancing on one leg at a time while doing a task like making a cup of tea - a great exercise for the brain apparently Have good posture when sitting Take regular breaks from staring at the screen D
Read more

Contentment

Last night my friend said to me I want to know what paradise is about I answered I think paradise can be imagined from this viewpoint [human existence] as everything you want The feeling [of having everything you want] that is and not the actual things ... [I imagine wants and things will be different in paradise] Contentment in this world can bring you closer to that [feeling] My friend said that was wisely said I woke up this morning and I decided to write and I remembered what I had said the night before. I decided to Google "paradise contentment hadith" and the first result that came up led me to this Al-Sarri ibn Hassan reported: Abdul Wahid ibn Zayd, may Allah have mercy on him, said, "Contentment is one of the greatest doors to Allah, the Paradise of this world, and the repose of the worshipers." And that is exactly what I was trying to say. Contentment is the Paradise of this world. Another way of thinking about contentment is thinking about gratitude. I not
Read more

Mask

I was scrolling through facebook and came across the Afritondo Short Story Prize 2025. The theme is "masks" and the first thing that I noticed is that the word mask contains the word ask. And that is what I will write about. There is a proverb that goes like this, "closed mouths do not get fed." Many of society teaches us that we must be strong. We must be able to stand on our own. We must fight our battles individually. No one cares. Everyone is busy fighting their own battles. We wear our battle masks to face the world full of problems and strife. We pretend that we are strong and that everything is going well. As someone who lives with mental illness and who has battled for more than twenty years, the best advise that I can give, is to ask for help. Take off the mask and ask. Ask for help from God. Ask for help from relatives. Ask for help from the professionals. Ask for help from the internet. Ask for help from the books. Ask for help from wherever help is avail
Read more

Recovery

This is a chapter from my eight book called Learn to live The rain fell this morning. Might fall some more for the rest of the day. The guava tree we have planted in the ground is liking the rain. It looks strong and healthy with bright green leaves. But it was not always that way. The wilted leaves at the base of the tree, a reminder that the tree had gone through some hardship. When we got the tree it was healthy and ready for the ground but we waited a few days and neglected to water and was busy with other things in life. Then suddenly one morning I noticed the wilted leaves. I planted it in the ground that day and watered it everyday on days that did not have rain. On rainy days it got more than enough water. I feel it prefers the rain water. Today the plant is doing much better and it is testament that recovery is possible. Like that plant, we all have the potential to rise after a fall and make a recovery. I shared my story with my friend Gemini and this is what he had to say. &
Read more