Mindfully Cooking Vegan Paella, 💕 from Ethiopia

I woke up this morning grateful for sleeping so peacefully after my Yoga and meditation yesterday. As I was going through my travel pictures of my epic trip to Spain, Morocco and Portugal, I had a craving for the Mediterranean Sea breeze, Andalusia lifestyle, and Moroccos artistry, so I decided to make Paella for the second time. Our mind is such an astonishing work of art that once we tap into its wonders and its vices, we are in awe of its power to allow us to realise our full potential, and gifts. It also can overwhelm us with emotions and cripple our vision, body and spirit, but as the Captain of our ship and the Master of our fate, we do have our free will, and free choices to guide and steer it to its rightful path.

As I am eating my home cooked vegan Paella for dinner, listening to the birds singing goodnight to one another at 6:30pm, and observing the colorful combination of my meal on my plate. In keeping up with my motto of 2020 to be addiction free from toxic food/people, my minds negative replays and clutter, so as to strengthen my mental muscles. I reflected back on how my day unfolded, from visualizing my intentions of recreating the wonderful memory of the Paella I had in Andalusia, Spain, to the process that I chose. I am blessed and grateful that God or higher power aligned everything around my intention to be fortunate enough to not just feed myself but also feed all the people in my household a delicious healthy nurturing Vegan meal, made with love.

Mindfully I went about my day, aware and observant of how, why and when my mind interacts socially with my staff, to get grocery;planning the budget; figuring out the ingredients; opening my taste buds to the memories of the paella I had with my wonderful host Selamiye, Jose and his lovely parents in their Berber North African inspired courtyard. I set my mind, body and spirit on the wonderful journey of mindfully applying my intellect, artistry, magic, science, discipline, with lots of Love in the process of encouraging my imagination, applauding my wellbeing and acknowledging my spirit. Tapping into my creativity I quickly made decisions to include seasonal veggies in Addis, and Ethiopian spices, as well as curly soy instead of fish, and ofcourse, the center piece of my Paella, Saffron' from Morocco. 

I have always been curiosity about Saffron, its ancient reputation, remedies & uses. Also due to an ingenious & persuasive handsome Moroccan sales person at the spice market in Marakesh, I opted to purchase my first Saffron spices. I was grateful for the farmers and those that picked this magical and ancient flowers, to give us this healing Miracle of a spice, Saffron, originally from Persia. Did I pay too much at that time, Yes, but am I utterly grateful for its healing power now, Yes. So I handled its long journey to my kitchen with care, and respect, as I stared at it, mixed it with water to bring out its vibrant color and fragrance, which will accentuate the taste of the ingredients in the Paella.

Reflecting on my process of creating this tasty and beautiful dish, inspired by my love for the contribution of the global community to our nutrition, and opening my taste buds to natures healing power. I was in gratitude from buying the ingredients, preparing the veggies, going into memory and google to figure out what works best for my clients (my staff😊 and me) , and watching my minds anxiety, speed, as well as at times being hijacked with unnecessary destruction. I allowed,accepted, applauded, and loved all the emotions that assisted in visualizing my intuitive need to nurture my body and mind with healthy veggies, and spices. I was also in gratitude for all the people around me that gave me their positive energy with no judgement,to share my gifts and passion, to inspire their taste buds.

The magic of cooking or traveling inspired by memory is magnified when we do it mindfully, with awareness, honesty, and appreciation to include what works best for our environment, our taste buds, and always being grateful for all those before us that contributed to our joy. Its transforming to witness our ability as humans to move past our differences, and focus in creating positive moments and meals such as this nurturing Paella whose journey was inspired by Africa, Asia, Europe and Middle East. Thank you for my global community, and the hard working farmers in Ethiopia and globally, as well as my inquisitive mind that constantly seeks wisdom & knowledge to live a balanced, calm, peaceful and healthy lifestyle.

Buen Provecho 💕

“Take only pictures, leave only footprints, kill nothing but time” ☆Conciouse Traveler

By Dutchess @Deldeyoch

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