What I loved about London was the diversity. I lived East Central in Islington. My friends were from all over the world. My favourite foods were Turkish and Indian, apart from breakfast which was always at a greasy spoon in Chapel Market. My favourite place was Columbia Road flower market and I loved taking random trips to West London which felt like another world. It was amazing, but when I came to leave, I realized there was so much I hadn’t bothered to see… Looking back now, I’m not sure I truly appreciated living there at all…and why would I? I was in my 20s! Does appreciating what we have now come naturally, or do we have to work at it?
When you move, particularly when you go to live in a foreign country or change from city life to live in nature, you suddenly notice everything. Your mind is focusing on all these amazing differences, adjusting to the change and newness. It’s a challenging and beautiful experience, and when you look back, these periods seem much longer than they actually were. Certain things stand out that shape your time in that place, change who you are, and they’re often things you never forget. This is very similar to the memories of your first weeks at a new school, with new friends and teachers, and a new intensity.
When I first arrived in Milan I was shown the street markets. These were (and hopefully still are) markets that fill an area of the city, starting early in the morning and ending around midday. You could find them every day of the week but some days you might have to travel a little further to get there. In these markets you could get anything you wanted. Fruit, vegetables, cheeses, salami, fabric, clothes, shoes, sunglasses… the list is really endless and the first time I went, I was in love. This was where I first interacted with people, it was where I learnt my first Italian, and this was where I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I lived in Milan for about 9 years and I don’t think I went a week without visiting one of these street markets to get my shopping.
Food is a huge part of our lives, and whether we enjoy cooking or not, we all have to eat. I’ve always loved food from many different countries, but I’m also the type of person who eats for fuel. If it’s healthy and satisfying, I can eat it. I’m not sure I truly valued the diversity of food available to me while living in London until I went to live in Milan, which at the time didn’t have much foreign cuisine. But for me, Italian cuisine was foreign, and I loved everything about it.
The first time I ate Italian food in Italy was mind blowing. It wasn’t what I thought it would be, it wasn’t like Italian food in the UK, it was so different, so varied, so delicious, and with this one small adjustment to my daily life, I somehow found my tastes changing and evolving and I felt myself becoming a different person. It obviously wasn’t just the food, it was seeing something totally new, experiencing a alternative way of life, it was looking at the world in a slightly different way that suddenly changed my perspective.
When we started spending time in the Czech Republic my family and friends would go to restaurants in large towns and areas of natural and historic beauty which often served hearty Czech meals. These were hefty meals, absolutely delicious and in reality probably aimed more at tourists than locals. Over the years we ended up eating in small pubs and village restaurants which offer a whole world of wholesome foods. During the holidays we’d end up doing loads of heavy work in the house and garden and then spend days relaxing in the sun, so we would look forward to huge dinners… and this is usually what we got in one of the many country pubs in this area.
Naturally after spending time living in a new place this initial cultural novelty wears off, our ability to adapt kicks-in, and we often don’t even notice the things we once found so fascinating, strange, and amazing. I guess this is just part of life, we do it in our own countries, we’re comfortable and happy and we take what we have for granted. But maybe this is when life starts to get a little dull. It’s impossible to look at everything as if we’re seeing it for the first time, but maybe it’s healthy to remind ourselves, and let others remind us, of how special our lives are.
In the last few years I’ve stopped eating meat, I’ve cut down hugely on sugars and I don’t really eat carbohydrates like bread, pasta, potatoes, cakes, etc. I still eat eggs and I occasionally eat fish. It makes eating out more difficult and I do have to compromise sometimes, but when cooking for myself it’s surprisingly simple and I cook using the things I have available. I like pesto a lot but instead of using basil and pine kernels, I use rucola and other types of nuts which are less expensive here. I also use strips of zucchini instead of pasta which was recommended to me recently and I’ve not looked back. They’re delicious.
I was recently with my friend Jitka on one of our morning walks and we’d stopped by a cherry tree to have a snack. As we were eating and talking I said that I wanted to pop into the field on the way home as I know of a patch of wild strawberries which I absolutely love. We continued our walk, stopped for a while in the field collecting and eating strawberries and then we went home to get on with our days. These wild strawberries also grow in the garden and when Lu was young he used to run along and eat them.
When I later mentioned this on a Facebook post, a few people wrote to me asking who the trees belonged to and were we allowed to just pick the fruit. This took me right back to when I first came here. It was late summer and the roadside trees were full of plums. I so desperately wanted to go and pick them but didn’t think I was allowed to. I asked my neighbor, Jiřina, who explained that anyone could pick the fruit but most people didn’t bother. Jiřina has always maintained fruit trees and bushes in her garden including gooseberries and often lets me pick what I want. Last year I made a delicious gooseberry fool.
I really couldn’t believe it. All these plums, pears, apples, cherries, blackberries, hawthorn berries, rosehips… they were so abundant and yet people didn’t seem to want to pick them… The first autumn here I picked, baked, and preserved some amazing pears which grow on the other side of the village. In recent years we’ve had quinces from the trees we planted in the garden. I baked them with almonds in honey and brandy and served them hot with cream, something my mother did with the pears in our garden when I was young.
I generally eat very little sugar nowadays, but I’m still tempted by a trifle once in a while. I know! I’m sure there are many people out there who are horrified by trifle, but I love it! Every so often I decide to make one using as many things from the garden as possible. I make the sponge myself and use wild strawberries and raspberries along with jelly made from rose petals and flowers. They look like magic and taste pretty good too.
When planning my flowerbeds I throw dill and coriander seeds in amongst the flowers. I have a patch at the end of the garden where nothing good grows, but lovage is happy to take over. Herbs and wild flowers so beautiful and are everywhere. There’s something very satisfying about a vase of geraniums and dill, wild carrot, or borage mixed in with Damask roses.
There are amazing hedgerows of damsons here towards the woods and one summer my friends Matthew and Hilary set their minds on making damson cheese. We followed an old recipe and used an antique butter mould, it was a lot of work but what a beautiful thing we made! I don’t think we actually ate that much of it as it was like an enormous wine gum, but it looked very impressive.
Jitka and I go for long morning walks all year round. We get to see the changing of the seasons. We see the trees bare and cold, the buds in early spring, the blossom… and when it’s harvest time, we make a concerted effort to collect all sorts of fruits most of which I stew and freeze the moment I got home. If I want to make a crumble or have a simple dessert I take some out of the freezer and have them with plain yogurt or cream.
I loved those nights in London, trying to work out which restaurant to meet up at, where we were going to go for drinks before, and after… I loved my time at the Milan street markets buying wonderful food and enjoying the atmosphere and magic of those places. I love the fact I can now walk for miles without seeing a single person, pick fresh fruit, breathe fresh air, and enjoy the nature that surrounds me. I love to think about all these places and still enjoy them in my mind.
As for the present, it’s so easy to forget just how lucky we are and how much beauty surrounds us. Maybe sometimes we have to remind ourselves of it, otherwise we forget to see it. Being thankful for what we had, and more importantly what we have now, whatever it is, is possibly the key to a happy life 💚
Below are a list of links to some of the recipes mentioned 💚
💚 Rucola Pesto: https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/arugula_pesto/
💚 Zucchini Pasta: https://www.loveandlemons.com/zucchini-noodles/
💚 Gooseberry Fool: https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/gooseberry_fool_54833
💚 Cooking with Roses: https://www.greatbritishchefs.com/how-to-cook/how-to-cook-with-rose-petals
💚 Damson Cheese: https://hisforhomeblog.com/food/home-made-damson-cheese/
💚 Stewed Quince: https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-cook-quince-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-196597
Love your story! Looking forward to trying a couple of the receipes. Not sure I can find all the main ingredients in middle America. Wish me luck!