A few months back, I happened to read this book-Life from Scratch by a food blogger, Sasha Martin.
The book revolved
around the mammoth project undertaken by Sasha which involved
her cooking from every country of the world i.e.
precisely 197 countries. Tackling one country per week, it took her
almost 4 years to complete this assignment. She initially commenced this major
task with the prime objectives of coaxing her picky husband to experiment with
food and exposing her six-month daughter to various global cuisines.
But as she delved
deeper into herself, Sasha realized this project was her way of meditation and
making peace with her extremely difficult childhood. Sasha was raised by a
single mother and they faced serious financial difficulties. However, her
mother was a very savvy cook and let no crumb go to waste be it moldy breads or
spoilt apples. What she didn't have in resources, she made up for in creativity
such as by introducing cranberry juice with cereal just because she could not
afford milk.
Cooking and food was
Sasha's strongest connection to her mother which kept her going when she lived
in a string of foster homes.
Sasha in her book,
particularly talks about certain recipes such as the German Tree Cake recipe
which consisted of 21 layers made from almond paste that had to be further
broiled, layered and frosted. This was a recipe that her mom had saved up for
months and took them jointly two days to make. It was her mother's way of
teaching Sasha that life is all about resilience and perseverance.
Perhaps cooking
her way through 197 countries was the adult version of the German Tree cake
recipe through which Sasha managed to make peace with her past, forgive and
move on to find happiness in her current life.
Since having read
this book, I have been very inspired with this project and have decided to
embark one on my own albeit on a smaller scale. I would
