Today when I was dropping my kids off at school before work, my son began telling his brother’s preschool teacher Marsia about how we went to the Brickworks and a “man was making bread on the fire”.
He was explaining to her how the man put the dough in a pot (it was cast iron) and put a tray on top (also cast iron) with burning wood and then let the hot ashes heat the dough so it would rise.
I loved listening to him talk (he is 5 years old).
Marsia, who is an amazing childhood educator and originally from Jamaica, began telling us how her grandmother used to make bread and potatoes like that when she was young back in Jamaica.
She explained how her grandmother’s kitchen was made of wood and had a big pit in the middle where the two of them used to cook over a fire. She was talking so vividly about the experience, the potatoes and how wonderful it all was. I could imagine the feeling, the scent, and the taste of what her and her grandmother were making.
We began talking about how, now “in the microwave age”, its hard to capture that experience of cooking slowly. Letting all your senses get involved. Taking in the moment. So simple, yet so nourishing.
After our conversation, I felt myself yearning for this. I began thinking of a trip to Jamaica, or escaping with my family to live in the woods. Both unfeasible options.
But how do we make things slower in 2017? Our generation, our culture, is based on speed. Speed of information, speed of preparation, speed of enjoyment.
Speed of light.
I am going to think about ways that I can slow things down.
Little steps.
Step 1. Go back to the Brickworks .
