Grandma Cooks With A Pinch Of LoveThis was the answer to the question as to why Grandma’s cooking taste so much better than restaurant food. In order to get your meals to taste like authentic Bahamian cooking, just add a ‘pinch of love’.
It goes without saying that you must love cooking and more importantly you must love the people you are cooking for.
Try this as you are preparing a Bahamian dish, repeat to yourself, ’I am cooking this meal for my favorite grandchild.’ You know the grandchild I am talking about the one that makes every morning a pleasure to see; that special cutie pie that blots out the sun, think of this mountain of joy as you cook. Prepare your food with this munchkin in mind and good money says that with this mind set even spaghetti and meatballs will taste like ‘real’ Bahamian cooking. You do not need to be a grandmother to do this, just use your imagination, of course.
If that does not work for you think of preparing a meal for a king, especially if there is a favour you want him to grant. In Bahamian culture guests are treated like royalty, so this state of mind must always be present when cooking in order for the food to taste just right. The Bahamas was once a monarchy and this tattooed on our psyche to always do things in a regal manner. Therefore, in order to cook Bahamian food you must always think of pleasing a king.
“Bread baked without love is bitter bread,” Kahlil Gibran. Love is the secret ingredient to Bahamian cooking, so do not be shy and sprinkle a dash here and a dash there. In closing, try to make your kitchen look and feel like Grandma’s. That nice and cozy feeling will go along way in helping you cook ‘real’ Bahamian food.
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