Food.. is to my brain, what Music.. is to my
ears. I am not some bon vivant, who prefers delicate, extravagant and
complicated little food. Indeed I am a very simple rice-curry-eating, street-food-craving
glutton. Most people that know me well, including my parents and close friends,
would indubitably deny any association of mine with such a sin. They wouldn't
even acknowledge me as someone who appreciates or even cares about what I
indulge my hapless taste buds in. But well masqueraded by my callous self,
there is 'a little secret me'.
To be honest, there are days, indeed there are
several days when I simply gulp down the first edible thing I see or nibble on
a piece of bread mindlessly until the end of time. But there are times, weird
times, when that little secret me
rises from the ashes of my epicurean wishes, like a phoenix, and causes mayhem
on my palate. And that me has a brain
of its own. When the mood strikes, it can move mountains, or at the very least
my lazy a** :P
So what I am trying to render is that I am a
connoisseur of food in my own unique way. I don't just use it for the
gratification of my metabolic needs or the indulgence of my taste buds, but I
think about it, discreetly, i.e. when I have my brain at my disposal, free from
all the futile worries of the world. And I am fond of cooking too.. not because
my culinary skills are an exceptional knack I inherited.. but because it hands
me the baton to lead the orchestra to play the symphony I want and how I want.
Now where other than your own kitchen will you get that sort of great power..
without much of the great responsibility which usually comes along (as long as
you don’t kill poor bystanders).
I spent a pretty copious chunk of my adult life
in 'The Land Of Ideas'. Now that, it sure was.. but what I soon discovered it
certainly wasn't, was ‘the land of assorted delectable and piquant cuisine’. Moreover hailing from the land of spices further
aggravated my woes. My fastidious requisites for ambrosial food rendered me
unable to appreciate the relatively bland food 'The Land Of Ideas' had to
offer. And the exposure to such trenchant and contradicting tastes and flavours
had made it practically impossible to distinguish subtle flavours and detect
hints of little somethings in other somethings (like cinnamon flavoured
bread or vanilla flavoured croissant).
Also, the way we spice-land people
spice up our meat, it leaves little scope for us to relish meat in any other
form.
So yeah.. I spent a good part of my life..
yearning, craving and whining for all the taste-bud ecstasy I was missing. In
due time, I retired to the misfortune of my hapless taste buds and that little secret me inside me went into
hibernation. Although once in a blue moon, I would take a few detours from my
rather engaged schedule and try to come up with some itsy bitsy treat for my
reward pathway. But that wasn't enough. My drab and dreary life lingered on in
a land where I could only fantasize about rewarding my reward pathway.
But well times change.. And so did mine. It was
just when my taste buds were on the verge of turning numb, that I made a
discovery. The path wasn't easy. I had to pop the bubble around me and dive in
to explore new tastes. I had to wipe the slate clean lest it indulged in
comparisons. To relish each new taste for the way it was, without any
prejudices, was of paramount significance to me. It took a considerable amount
of time. But I got there. And when I got there.. I discovered a whole new paradise
of epicurean delight.
German food in its own very way can blow your
mind away. It’s not delicate like the French, which I personally, find rather
pretentious. For I believe that the purpose of good food is to make you feel
like you won't need to eat ever again and not just provide a pretty sight or a
savoury whiff. German food may not be as pretty and perfect but it sure leads
you to gastronomical ecstasy and the complacency of your heart. And if you are a vegetarian, my apologies, you have just a few many ways to embark upon the
orgasmic ride to palate paradise.
Once I had unearthed this awesomeness in
edible form, there was no looking back. And if you are wondering why this
unusual post, then.. the answer is sheer nostalgia. Therefore I would like to
direct you to the following link (which is a fun read btw). It unleashed some good old finger-licking .. err umm..
better yet fork-and-knife-licking memories.
In conclusion I
would like to say a word or two of wisdom :D
(presented to you as I had once acquired them from a very wise person I
knew)..
"One should
always keep an open mind to something new and different. That is the secret
mantra for maintaining a scrap book of great new experiences."
