Culinary Cravings
Desire, cravings and spices fuel your inspiration – At the grand bazaar of Istanbul
What do desire, cooking, cravings and spices have to do with inspiration?
I have never been fond of dieting, as dieting is the end of desire.
I have always preferred to give in to my cravings and desires.
New ideas come to me while I`m cooking. Cooking is healing.
Upon my return from Istanbul I was struck by a Bavarian flu which made my head feel like bursting. Despite my eyes being glassy and my head on fire I was hit by an unquenchable desire to cook. I had brought back spices from the bazaar and I knew that new tastes and flavors were awaiting me.
I get this when I`m cooking and designing, but mostly when cooking: When I`m down and out and my joints are aching and my soul is hurting, I cook.
At the tender age of 25 I was ready to write a cookbook, and since then I have jotted down every new idea I could get my hands on. Don`t worry, I`m not going to write yet another cookbook. The market is saturated and not only professionals, but also celebs are jumping on the bandwagon and blessing the world with their culinary creations to boost their publicity. It is not by accident that most artists are passionate chefs in the kitchen. Arts and creativity go hand in hand with culinary creations. The same way the smooth texture of a leather dress excites me, I get aroused by the scent of spices, concoctions and foods slowly bubbling away on my stovetop.
Maybe it is the prospect of discovering something new, an unknown taste or flavor, or the hope of rediscovering a variant of a well-known dish.
Of course, the major sights were part of the deal of my trip to Istanbul. The kind of must see sights for every tourist, of which you post pictures via whatsapp or facebook.
However, what really touched my heart were the people and the new flavors of an ancient oriental culture. I was magically drawn to the Mısır Çarşısı, the Egyptian spice bazaar near the Galata Bridge. It would have probably grossed out any EU hygiene supervisor that the ground spices were not sealed in plastic, but piled up openly in the market stalls.
All those different aromas mixed into one oriental fragrance composition, which made me go all out on a spice shopping spree.
I wanted to get any kind of curry, check out all the different kinds of saffron and to try out zatar, sumach and all those unfamiliar, exotic mixtures.
The bazaar was like paradise, it inspired me and teased my tastebuds. The colors, the atmosphere, the smiling vendors, the oriental music resonating from every stall whipped their magic on me.
At the end of the day, my mind won over my instincts and I managed to restrain myself from buying tons of sweets, teas and chilis.
I did however load up my bag with Garam Marsala, dried mint, curry and sumach and, in addition, nigella sativa.
Thank God there are online shops like Bremer Gewürzhandel which has any- and everything your heart desires in store.
I have already started experimenting. Soon you will see my latest creations on this blog.
Try new things and experiment! Spice up your life! Introduce new flavors into your life! New sensual experiences make your life worth living- preferably every day! Savor the flavor!