My 1000th Post! (And Some News)

I published my very first Chef Bolek blog post - Benvenuto - on April 9, 2008. Since that time, I have written 998 more posts for this blog. I had fourteen years to prepare for this moment: my 1,000th post. However, I have to admit that I was not prepared. When I eventually realized that my 1,000th post was approaching, I did not have any ideas about what I would do.  

I sought some ideas from friends on social media and I got some responses. Those responses provided a good starting point. One  suggestion was to make the oldest known recipe. That recipe would most likely be found on the walls of a tomb outside the ancient city of Thebes in Egypt. The tomb belonged to Senet, who was most likely the wife of a vizier named Antefoquer (or Intefiquer). This individual served Pharaoh Amenemhat I, who reigned during the start of the Twelfth Dynasty, which ran from 1991 BCE to 1962 BCE. That dynasty was often considered to be the highest point of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt. (It came after the Old Kingdom, whose Pharoahs built the pyramids and before the New Kingdom, which is known for Pharoahs such as Akhenaten, Tutankhamun and Ramses II.)

Source: At the Mummies Ball

The walls of Senet's tomb contain a recipe for bread. At the time, yeast had not been discovered. Therefore, the recipe was more akin to how one would prepare and bake a flatbread. Craftworkers did not chisel that recipe on the tomb walls so much to remind Senet how to make the bread after she passed through the Duat and reached the Field of Reeds. Rather, it was advise those who would be baking the bread for Senet in the afterlife. If I had to venture a guess, Senet probably enjoyed eating this bread while she walked this planet. I tracked down a possible recipe on the Internet. I thought about making the bread for my 1000th post. In the end, I decided against it. I wanted to do more with this post than just a recipe. 

Other friends provided suggestions. One friend suggested preparing a dish from the cuisine of El Salvador. I looked at dishes like Lomo Rellano and Coctel de Conchas, as well as tamales and pupusa recipes. However, some of these dishes could find their way into Around the World in 80 Dishes challenge. Another suggestion was to bring back my favorite classic of all time. The problem I had with this suggestion is that there are quite a few classics and I could not settle on one.  And, again, I wanted to do more than just make a recipe. 

The ATW Challenge for Bhutan

The question returned to what did I want to do. The answer to that question lies with what I have done. It is a journey that reveals how much my hobby of cooking has evolved over time. I began this blog with my love for Italian cuisine. A trip that I took to Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany sparked that love for cooking and eating Italian food. Many of early blog posts featured my Italian cooking. Early on, one of my best friends presented me with a challenge: go beyond Italy and prepare dishes from other parts of the world. I accepted the challenge in two ways. At first, I started my Around the World in 80 Dishes challenge (the first post - Ethiopia - came on September 22, 2010). I tried to study the cuisine, culture and country for each challenge, which gave rise to my desire to learn more about what I prepared and ate. However, I then expanded my everyday cooking to include dishes from around the world.  

As I continued to explore dishes and cuisines from around the globe, I went beyond just learning about the ingredients and cooking processes. I strived to learn about the people themselves, and, to the best of my ability, gain an understanding of their perspective. The blog helped me grow as a person by recognizing the privilege that I have, and acknowledging the struggles of others to obtain the same dignity, respect and, in many cases, justice that has eluded them for years and even generations. 

Beyond Borders - Palestine

This evolution is reflected in my blog. I moved beyond my Around the World in 80 Dishes challenge to start a series called Beyond Borders. This effort catalogues my efforts to learn more about those who often go unnoticed and whose plight does not make the headlines of mainstream news outlets. I have used my hobby to learn more about peoples such as the Chagossians, Kashmiri, Rohingya, Palestinians, Ojibwe, Tibetans and others. I learned not just about their cuisines, but also their struggles and fight for human rights, justice, and dignity. 

I have to say that I am proud of this growth; and, I plan on continuing these endeavors (as well as the other projects that I have done over the past fourteen years). However, I feel that I need to take another step, another evolution. 

To that end, I have some news:

I am changing the ways I cook and eat. I will be weaving Buddhist principles into my cooking. I plan on becoming more mindful of what I prepare and how I prepare it. This will, in turn, make me more mindful about what I eat. 

The incorporation of Buddhist principles into my cooking is actually a logical step for me. For years, I have been learning (mostly self-taught) and practicing Buddhist meditation. I started studying Theravada Buddhism (which is practiced in southeast Asian countries like Thailand, Laos and Cambodia) but I have migrated toward Mahayana Buddhism (which is practiced in China, South Korea, Vietnam and Japan.) I began learning about Buddhism and meditation to deal with the anxiety and stress from my work. It has worked well to help bring balance in my life. I try to use what I have learned in the way suggested by the Dalai Lama: 

"Do not try to use what you learn from Buddhism to be a Buddhist; use it to be a better whatever-you-already are." 

Those words will serve as a guide on this new culinary path. The goal is not to become a Buddhist or even eat like a Buddhist. In other words, I am not going to become a vegetarian, let alone a vegan. Nevertheless, I will incorporate Buddhist principles to evolve my cooking experience. I want to bring a mindfulness to the ingredients, the processes and the final dishes. The end result, if I am successful, will be a diet that will gradually incorporate more vegetables and less meat. A diet that will be better for the environment and, of course, my own health.

My new path begins with a book about Buddhist temple food. The book was written by Wookwan, a Buddhist nun who is the head of the Mahayeon Temple Food Cultural Center. Wookwan provides an excellent description of the relationship between Buddhism, cooking and diet. 

The book is only the starting point. I also plan to build on what I have already been doing with my blog to help me along this path. I am going to use what I have learned about various cuisines and cultures to build a more mindful diet. For example, I can draw upon what I have learned about rice dishes from sub-Saharan Africa (from Senegal to Nigeria) or curry dishes from across Asia (from China to Sri Lanka and from Pakistan to Vietnam). I can used what I have learned about indigenous cuisine and their approach to nature, including my exploration of Native American and Pacific Islander cuisines.

In sum, the goal is to become more mindful about what I cook and what I eat. The process is going to be gradual (so don't be surprised if there still seems to be a lot of posts about meat - I have to clear out a backlog of posts). The reason is simple: dramatic changes rarely last, gradual ones can be built upon over time. I will chronicle my journey on this blog, starting with my blog project, The Mindfulness Foodways.  My hope is that, as with my prior evolutions, this journey will also make its way into my everyday posts. 

Finally, I want to thank everyone who has read my blog, commented, and/or reacted on social media. The input and reactions from family and friends is very important and helpful. I am looking forward to the next 1,000 posts (and, hopefully, it won't take another fourteen years for that to happen). Until next time ...

ENJOY!