Ep 55: Cooking, Culture, and Connection with Paula Mohammed

Written By Christine Van Bloem

This week, I had the absolute pleasure of sitting down with Paula Mohammed from In My Kitchen with Paula. Paula and I share a love of good food, connection, and exploring different cultures.

Paula told me all about how she started In My Kitchen back in 2018 to bring people together and celebrate traditional recipes. We also talked about her podcast, where she shares amazing culinary stories from cooks all over the world. One of my favorite parts of our chat was hearing how online cooking experiences unexpectedly took off during the pandemic—and how food continues to be such a powerful way to connect.

We got into everything from the joy of learning from passionate home cooks, to navigating cultural appropriation in the kitchen, to dreaming up future online classes we’d love to co-host. I can’t wait for you to hear this one—it’s all about food as a bridge, and the magic that happens when we gather around a meal.

Be sure to visit EmptyNestKitchen.com and sign up for my weekly newsletter filled with super practical cooking advice and free resources.

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  • well, hey everyone. Listen, I am so, so excited because I am back to the interviews, baby. And am I introducing the most delightful woman to y'all? Yes, of course I am. Say hello to Paula Mohammed of In My Kitchen with Paula. Hey, Paula. Hey, Christine, it's so I'm excited to be here. I'm excited to have this chat with you. I'm I'm thrilled. Oh, we are gonna have a good time. We met through a woman that we both worked with in California, and Paul is coming to us today from Vancouver, bc. Right. Correct. British Columbia. Yep. Yes. Yep. I got my geography down. Our neighbors are kinder, gentler neighbors to the north. Well, thank you so much for coming on because you also have a podcast. Right. I do. It's in my kitchen with Paula. And it was interesting'cause as we were just discussing when you know, I've been following you for a long time and I was like, oh my gosh, we're talking to the same people and we have a Yeah. And we have a lot of the same values like embracing life wellbeing and flourishing, and I do it through food as well, but really about exploring culture through food in our, in our travels. And I, I started the podcast because I was trying to find. Stories and get behind the kitchen door, if you will, from people who were from the regions that I always wanted to visit or where I was going. And I had a hard time finding that. So this was sort of an offshoot of the original version of In My Kitchen, which was a business that I started back in 2018. Oh, wow. So you were having a hard time even in this whole, like, I feel like our world has gotten so, so tiny. With how accessible everything is. But you had to start your own podcast to be able to talk to the people. Exactly. Yeah. I mean, when I started in my kitchen it was, I mean, everything that has driven me in all my different pivots that have happened over the last few years is about building understanding or increasing understandings between cultures cross-culturally, and that goes back to my upbringing and it, I always wanted it to be. Like you do, Christine. I wanted to bring things to people in a fun, casual, engaging way and all about connection. So the original version of In My Kitchen is I recruited and vetted these amazing people, their passionate home cooks from different cultures. And then people would sign up online and then go to their homes and learn traditional recipes, and then everybody would sit down and share a meal together. And it was just beautiful. It was all about. Hospitality people got really comfortable, could ask questions. And we had hosts ranging from Qatar to Vietnam, Raan, and yeah. And then COVID hit, and that's then you and I met because pivot number one, how do, what do we do now? Yeah. And then, yeah. Well. Go ahead. Keep going. I'm so excited. I have so many questions. Yeah. Yeah. And so then through the, through the pivots, we, you know, we did the online thing as well for a while. But even when I started in my kitchen, I wanted to have a podcast show, and then I was too nervous to do it. And I, and a lot of i imposter syndrome. I'm now 55 and, and the beauty of 55 is you're kinda like, it's as it is. Like who cares? Whatever, putting it out there, you're so right. Yeah, but you know, it wasn't like that for me in 2018. I still had a lot of, I was a very, I was very shy growing up and I people are always surprised to hear that, but there's definitely a layer of that that continues. So anyway, we again, I was trying, I really passionately believed that talking to somebody who's from that region, you just, you know, I had learned from our online experiences and in-person experiences, the, the hospitality piece that comes through that's very unique to all the different. Places and regions, and I find sometimes it's challenging to get that and those values and how, how different cultures communicate when it's not. With somebody who's from that region when it's, I, I don't get me wrong, I love Rick Steves, I love Anthony Bourdain. I love somebody Feed Phil. I think it's amazing what everybody brings to the table, but what I love about all three of those individuals is their conversations with people from specific regions over food. And so I was having a hard time finding that for a podcast show where when I was looking for information forget where I was going. And so I decided, Hey, I'm gonna do this myself. I've already got seven of our own hosts who would be my first seven guests because, and, and it was awesome. I think to this day, one of my best episodes is still the very first one we did with Layla from Rashon. I was so nervous. I was so nervous. We both were, we're both like, oh my God, what do we do? How do we do this? Well, what, okay, so forgive my ignorance. Yeah. I have never heard of Rush Deron. Yes. Yeah. So what, tell me what that is, and I'm embarrassed to ask, but No, I know at least one of my four listeners feels the same way. You know what I've, I've learned that if, like, there's no question that is a question to feel embarrassed about, and that was the whole point of in my kitchen, is to provide a space online or in person where you could feel comfortable to ask that question. So RAs Deran is in the northern part of Iran. And it's, it's unique actually. I, I if anyone's interested, I highly recommend doing some Google search or listening to the podcast because it's actually unique and a little bit different than the rest of Iran. It was kind of a place where there was a little bit more leniency around how women were were out in. Society at different times. So in the seventies, everything was pretty open, and then they went through the first phase. So the reason why is because RICE is their major export. Now, all of this, I learned from Layla. This isn't my, this isn't me being a really smart or anything worldly, but rice is their major export. And so and their major industry. And so the women were the ones that were out in the rice field. So they had to have their sleeves rolled up and they weren't wearing any you know, their. Their dresses or pants or whatever rolled up. So there was a little bit of leniency around what women could do in rash around, so. It's yeah, it's very interesting chat chatting to Layla, especially when you start talking about you know, she starts talking about Persian vodka and you're like, well, hang on a second. How's, how's that? Because I thought, you know, alcohol is illegal. Well, it is, but every home makes their own vodka. Oh my gosh. Yeah. Super. Oh my gosh. Interesting. Yeah. Yeah. And then also what was really interesting is, you know, of course I'm always asking about the, the flow of the daily meals and, and what does that look like? Because I think you learn so much about a culture Oh yeah. Right? Yeah. From the, you must, you'll know that through your Mediterranean meal plans and whatnot. And so the role of hospitality is huge, and it's actually from people after dinner, go from home to home. And the her stories about. How their children, it was very difficult to raise children there, which is one of the reasons they left. Oh, well, she left before they had children. I can't remember. But the reason is because the children are exposed to and live one life behind the doors of homes, hence the, the Persian vodka. The different, you know, what, whatever happened, but when you go to school, you can't be telling necessarily everything that you're. Living in your own reality at home, right? So it's right. It's very challenging as you could imagine. Well, kids are not known for their discretion now, are they? So that's, well, yeah. So I think, you know, at, at this time especially, I think trying to bridge. Culture gaps and trying to find commonalities and to really celebrate other cultures is so incredibly important. You know, and I'm saying this as somebody who grew up in the most basic of basic places in south central pa, and I say that with love. I want you to know I say that with love. But it's, you know, to me it's so exciting to learn about, even at my old age, right? It's so exciting to learn about all of these different places. I mean, heck, I never even heard of that before. So now I think food is this really great equalizer, right? Mm-hmm. Because it's something you gotta eat, right? And if you can't, I always say, if you can't, I cannot help you, right? Like, you have bigger issues, but it's all about. Food and trying all of the different things. I mean, listen, there is a Pakistani, I think it's Pakistani. No. Is it Pakistani or is it Palestinian? I think it's Palestinian. I, eh. It is a restaurant from a country that starts with a p. I feel so ignorant saying that it's here in my town. It's called Zis Kitchen, and my son goes bananas for it. He just absolutely loves it. So he went and got lunch today and I, I scored lunch, which was amazing. To me, I'm like, it's just, it's so good and it's so interesting and it's so different from how I grew up. I think people nowadays, they don't remember that. Here in the States we had a restaurant called Chichis. Okay. And it was terrible, but it was like a chain. Mexican food restaurant and it was truly the only option. Like where I went to college, where I lived, all of that. It was the only option. And then you had the requisite Chinese food place and there was only one. Like in the whole area I grew up in, there was only one restaurant and now it's exploded. And you can find all of these different places, right. So many different places. Mm-hmm. And learning through more than just the food, but learning about the culture is so fascinating. It's, it's why I do. I mean, you hit the big three when you're talking about middle-aged white men, right. With Bourdain and sorry guys that's for Jason, who I know listens but Bourdain and Rick, Steves and Phil, and excuse me. I love somebody feed Phil because, I mean, I loved Bourdain. You got, but I mean, always, always convinced I was gonna get lung cancer just watching them. Right. But when you, there's something about somebody feed Phil, like whenever a new season comes out, I watched the whole thing over the weekend, right? Like eight episodes or something, and it's very uplifting and he does what Bourdain did. But in a, a kinder, gentler, more Andy Griffith, all shucks kind of way, which I think is. Wholeheartedly authentic. Right. It is completely who he is as a person. It doesn't seem put on at all. But traveling to not just places. He was here near us. He was here on my birthday last weekend. Oh, fun. And I didn't get to go'cause we were doing, you know, we were doing the family thing. But he was here in Baltimore. And I'm wondering if, if he's gonna have an episode on Baltimore, I'm really hoping he does. Have you heard of Baltimore? I've heard of it, but could I tell you much about it? No. Yeah. Well, there was a great HBO series called The Wire that basically was like, Baltimore is hell and you will die if you go there. But Baltimore has the most incredible food scene like Baltimore has. This, it's amazing. And it's not just, you know, there's a touristy part of the city by the harbor and all of that, and there's some great restaurants there, but all through Baltimore, there are amazing restaurants and they're not. You know, they're not white tablecloth. There are all of these great places, and I love that. I love that. You know, people are bringing in exposure to that. And there are lots of different cultures represented in those restaurants. Mm-hmm. Which is a lot of fun. No kidding. It's so interesting that you're, you're, you're descriptor for somebody feed for Phil Rosenthal. Brilliant Andy Griffith, so that, that puts us in a certain decade. And if you know, you know, but, but you nailed it. But I didn't actually, I wasn't, I didn't know a whole lot. I know. I mean, people are gonna be like, what? But I didn't know a whole lot about Anthony Bourdain prior to starting in my kitchen. I mean, I, I liked his shows. I'd watched a few, but I wasn't, you know, most people. We're passionate about him and I was drawn more to oh, I'm gonna get her raw name mistake. And she's coming to speak in Vancouver. Salt acid oh yeah. Samin Nasra. Samin Nasra. Yeah. And somebody feeds Phil. I know. I love her too. And I think it's because of exactly what you said, there is a bit more of a welcoming piece to it. And it, it didn't have to be. Off the charts are super edgy for them to very, very gracious in how they are with their, with the people they meet. And I think very not, and this is, I'm Anthony Bourdain now is I'm not doing any comparison, but also very there was like a a lot of love there and it didn't matter who they met. And one of one of my guests on one of my episodes, she was actually on somebody feed Phil, she's from Taiwan, and she said he is as lovely. He and his wife. Off camera. She said whenever they stopped filling, filming, they would race around and go try more of the food, you know, different food stands and food stills. Because I asked her, do they really eat that much? And she's like, oh yeah. It was amazing, you know? Wonderful. So, yeah. Anyway I love that and I, I have to stick up for myself for a second. My husband was watching. An absolutely terrible movie the other night from 1958 with Andy Griffith in it. And that is why he sprung to mind. It was a terrible movie. It was so bad, but it, you know, it had kind of that aw shucks thing. And I I love the love, like I love the approach. Of the love because everything, you know, it is a tricky time right now. Mm-hmm. And I know you are blessedly in Canada. But it is a difficult time in the world right now and, and here in the us you know, it's, it's just, there's a lot of tension everywhere. Mm-hmm. You know, so anybody who's leading with all of this love. I'm like, heck yeah. Give it to me. You know? I wanna see the kinder, gentler side of everything. I, I really am craving it so much because I feel like I've got my hackles up all the time. Right? Like trying to be prepared for something terrible that's happening somewhere. So I, I love the leading with love and I love that you are doing this. And what better way than through food and travel, right. And, and sharing a meal together. Actually, you'll be very interested in this because you, you bring a lot of connection and happiness to people through what you do. The World Health Report, the 2020. 2025 World Health Report. And I, I, I may get this slightly wrong, but you'll get the gist of it. Sharing a meal together around a table was topped income and employment for a measure of wellbeing and thriving and happiness. Yeah. Which is quite something. Do you know it's one of, it's one of the tenets of Mediterranean diet. Is, is that is form. It's not just what you're putting in your, I'm gonna sound so like cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs here, but it's not just like what you're putting in your body, it's what you're putting in your brain. Mm-hmm. So like when I'm doing. Anything. I teach these classes for Johns Hopkins University. They have a program called osha and it's older folks who are really lovely and smart and I am always saying to them, you know,'cause you end up where you're one person. Or maybe you're two people, but your kids are definitely gone. They've got their own lives going. You know, there's all this stuff and loneliness is a real thing, you know? It's a huge thing. And that satisfaction of sharing a meal with someone. It goes so much further than just that half hour that you're sitting there and hanging out. So whenever I do my, I do the A A RP cooking classes. Whenever I do those, I always challenge them and say, Hey, next month bring a friend. Like, just sit beside a friend and have coffee, or have mimosas or have, you know, kitchen vodka you know, do whatever you do. But yeah, you're so right. That is such a big part of it. And those because I've seen I've followed you a little bit. Those are online, are they not the, the yeah, I do, I do tons of stuff online. Do you do any online? Yeah. You know, it's super interesting, not, I, we're gonna come back to it, but we haven't for a while. And there's it's part of a, a, a whole pivot. But. When we did move to online, I was really worried that we weren't gonna be everything that I based in my kitchen on goes back to how I grew up and it was those feelings of connection and love around the table. And my father was from Pakistan, my mom was from New Zealand. And both those cultures there was a lot of, you did a lot of that. Although my dad, we always joke, he was more Japanese than Pakistani. That, that's another story. But it was all about, it happened very naturally and you didn't label things. So that's what I was trying to bring in within my kitchen is I wanted people to learn about Layla from RAs Deran, or Suha from Qatar, Raymond from Vietnam. But not at be prescribed, you know, like not at be labeled just to happen very naturally by cooking together and sharing the meal together. So it was that food piece that was, yeah. Focus and I thought when everything happened and we had to move online, I was, how are we going to bring that online? I was blown away at how strong connections were online, and I really hope somebody does some studies behind it. I saw a study recently that showed with university kids, actually, your, your audience will love this. Probably the same demographic I is if you FaceTime. With your teen and university versus just texting? Both, both participants get much more of a, of those positive emotions and wellbeing indicator goes way higher than if you are just texting. So I like to think the online does something, but I'm curious about your thoughts on that too, because the online. Culinary experiences. We had some, one time we had a family across North America doing an event together. Online. Yeah. Yeah. And some of the relatives had never actually met before. It was amazing. Like some of the little kids were the older ones. So, I don't know where I was going with all that, except that Well, I can tell you, I can tell you I went kicking and screaming into the online. Right. Because it was, I, I did everything in person. And the idea, I mean, five years ago, the idea of doing things online that, let's say five and a half, that just wasn't, you know, it was the solution to the problem we were being handed. Mm-hmm. And everybody looked at it like it was, you know, just a temporary thing. You know, we're gonna go online, the world will recover and then we'll be back to normal. And I fully expected, like maybe I'd be able to do a little something with it. I was telling somebody the other day that I have found more joy in the online than, first of all, than I ever thought possible, but I think even more than when I was teaching. Like owning my school because the people, so now it's not so much that everybody turns their cameras off, right? It's not so much of that. Right. And thank goodness, because I'm like, if you turn your camera on, nobody else has to see it. I'm gonna pin myself. Right. I'm gonna pin me. I'm gonna pin my food Cam. Like, you don't have to look at anyone else. I'm going to because I can see if they're cooking. I mean, literally Paula, one time I watched somebody, it was so funny, I watched somebody like run across their kitchen with a smoking pan and I was in tears. It was so funny. And I was like, oh, you can turn your camera off if you want, but I, you know, it was so funny. And they were so good natured and so sweet. But I have people from all over the country. Like when I do this A A RP thing, I have people, I have two women in Hawaii now. There are two of'em, and I don't think they're. Together. I think they're in different places. They get up at 5:00 AM so they can just watch me babble, right? I mean, what sweethearts and it's, it's like I look for their names. I look for my gal from Morristown, New Jersey, right? I look for Lisa from the Bronx. I'm looking for everyone. I'm looking for Francis in Nebraska because now I feel like we have this. Connection, don't you? Don't you think it's, I think you have to do it right now. I don't think you can be lazy about it. I think you have to really be focused in, and you can't just do a huge, I mean, when I do this, it's. You know, I have really big classes through A A RP, but when I do it for myself, like I've got my little Mediterranean magic for midlife class kicking off next week. Right. When I do it for myself, the classes are much smaller and it's a very personal experience, and I can get as deep in as they want to go. Mm-hmm. Like, we'll go off on a tangent if it's something that they're interested in. I think it's, I think it's. Incredible. I would love to see studies someday too. Yeah. And I do, we do plan to bring them back and actually what we plan to do is bring them back with, because every podcast guest, I ask them to bring a recipe to share because I,'cause I'm curious and it's interesting to see what they share. So I'd like to do those recipes with that guest online is kind of the plan, but when you do your small. Online groups? Do they all have their cameras? Like are they seeing each other as well, or do you keep it where you're It's their, it's their call, right? It's totally their call. So when I do that class, everybody's, most of the time everyone is cooking along. So I've started, you know, giving them a list of this is how the class is gonna play out. And if they want the camera on, I never pressure them, you know?'cause you know, some days you just have that day, right? And you look like a troll and you feel like a troll and you can barely just even get into the class. Right? And you just wanna get through it'cause you paid the money for it and you're doing the thing. But yeah, it's. It. I let people do what they want, but they start putting their cameras on and I mean, there's a lot of give and take I think with that because like we're looking at, at each other right now as we're recording this and you've wonderful smile. So every time I look and you're smiling or you're laughing, I mean, that gives you such a, that gives you such a great boost. And then it's easier to keep going. And as an instructor, that's it too. Right? I have 100%, one woman who. Does. She doesn't cook along typically, but she takes notes. She's an artist. Her name's Kathy, and she takes these notes that are gorgeous, like pictures of eggplant. And like she, she does, you know, zucchinis and here's an onion, and she does these gorgeous drawings with these notes and it's such a charge for me to, to get that. She'll share'em with me after class. Oh, it's so cool. But it's such a charge to see how different people take the class in. That is, that's so interesting what she's getting out of it that way. And it's what you said about like you and I are, are feeding off each other and you get. Even online, there's a connection. And I encourage I call them my, my women or my community. My people when they go traveling is I have this slogan now is the whole, the piece of it is encouraging people to slow down, savor and smile. And that smile piece is about creating those little micro connections. So like you said, like with cooking too is it's not, or being at the table, it's not necessarily the food. It's also what's happening in the brain and in your travels. It's not necessarily traveling through and what you're, what you're taking from it. It's also what you're leaving behind. And if you have a small connection with somebody in the market and that you share a smile that benefits both of you. And there's science behind it too, which I find fascinating and it that carries on not just for that moment like you were just saying as well. Yeah, I, you know, I have to tell you, and this is not like a self congratulations thing, it's gonna seem like it, but I was at the farmer's market, I don't know, last month sometime, and there is a woman who owns an oil and vinegar shop there. Her name Sharon Strep. Beautiful shop and I, there's a vinegar of hers I cannot get enough of, I mean, I make like a bur blanc out of it. It's a, like, I do all sorts of stuff. It's so good. And I just wanted to grab a bottle and there was a younger guy, maybe my son's age, like late twenties with his girlfriend or his wife, I don't know. And he was kind of intimidated because, you know, she had this whole thing, right, of all of these options. So I just. Bought a bottle and gave it to him and said, here you, you know, now take this and go and make something awesome. And then come back and tell Sharon how good it was. And there you go. I mean, it was not an expensive thing. Oh, sweet. Was a couple of bucks. Well, but what it, but it what? It was like I kinda saw it, first of all, I was feeling myself, but it was like you, I don't know. I really saw it as an opportunity to get him excited in the kitchen. Right. And it was kind of bringing that along. Mm-hmm. So we should encourage people to do something like that. Absolutely. Couple of bucks. Good psychic return. We love that. We were my partner Steve and I were in Portugal. When were we there in March and we sat up at a, a restaurant, like a, a small, we got a, it was really, it was great actually. I can't remember the name of it. But we were sitting up at the bar and we were started talking to the young man beside us. So he was like third year university. And it was really interesting. He was telling us what it was like in Lisbon and I was, I was very curious about what the influx of tourists, how that impact.'cause there's a lot of negative impact as well as positive. And he was tell, so he really opened up to us and he was telling us about the restaurant that he is gonna open up and what it was gonna look like. You know, what it was all, what it was gonna be like. And he was very passionate about it. And he was a student. We laughed and unbeknownst to me, Steve had quietly, like, I'm out there, Christine, you and I have got, we've got big personalities. Steve is, is is an observer, a really good listener. Takes it all in. Anyway, unbeknownst to me, he had paid for his this young man's dinner before we left. And it was this, he'll never, and he's, and he'll never know whether he might figure out who or what, but it was one of those acts of like, just. Doing something like you did just in the moment without overthinking it and yeah. Made somebody's day. That's where my lottery fantasies all come in. I don't know. Do you have these obnoxious lotteries in Canada like we do in the us? Well, I don't Ours. Yeah. Maybe ours, like 20 million. You're probably in the billions there. Oh, we just had one that was over a billion. Oh my gosh. Right. And when it gets, I know it's stupid money, right? So it totally, so for my four listeners, I'm sorry, I digress. But I love a lottery fantasy. So my husband and I get these lottery fantasies and it's like, okay, let's talk about how it's gonna break out. And we're always like, the only way we will survive is if we give almost all of it away. And it is so much fun. That's the most fun to me. Figuring out how you would give it all away, you know, so that you stay happy and married. And I mean, listen, I'm gonna have a pool, I'm gonna have three dogs. There are just things that are gonna happen. But it's so much fun thinking about, so those little things like buying, you know, paying for someone's dinner and I, I always think too, it's kind of a pay it forward sort of deal, right? Yeah. So it's just a, just a different vibe. So you're gonna bring back, I wanna come back to,'cause when I owned my school. Everybody always wanted all the international classes. And seriously, I make excellent sushi. You would not think that I looking at me would make excellent sushi. I really do a good job with it. But there are so many cuisines, right? Like everybody always wanted us to offer Korean and it was like, I, you know, I had a, a woman who worked with me who traveled, like traveled to Vietnam. A lot and traveled to China a lot. So I could give, I could let her do things'cause she was cooking over there with them. She's doing all that stuff. But it was really important to me to bring, to like, try to figure who's teaching this that really has real experience with it, who kind of grew up this way. Mm-hmm. So I, first of all, I think that's a great idea if you are doing that because people love that. People really love that, and I think a lot of folks really want that connection with other cultures. I think so too, and I think it's very different and not, I'm not saying one's better than the other, it's a preference for me, but I think it's very different learning from. A professional chef who's teaching techniques versus a home cook who's passing on things that they learned from their Nona or their, their, you know, previous generation. Yeah, I'll agree with that. And it depends what you want. So we always say in our, in our experiences that you're not gonna learn technique so much.'cause I often get people who want to learn knife skills or they want to, and I say, well, you're, you'll learn some, but it may not be like. I'm doing quotation marks. Correct. But it wasn't about that and I always referred to them as experiences versus classes.'cause I think there's a place for both and I didn't wanna misrepresent, so, I forgot what your question was, but I'm sure there was one there. All that to say, well, yeah, these, these, I like what you're doing these. Yeah, it was great. And these culinary experiences were also like Melissa, they would share stories about how they grew up, right. Because it's all about what I was curious about and, and the people who took the experiences were, were, had the same curiosities as I did. So it was getting those stories. From people. So when we moved online, I was on those online experiences as a facilitator with our, with our inst, with our hosts to draw out those stories and that that was the piece.'cause they were nervous to be on, as I would to be on by themselves. But we also realized, as you would know, it's very difficult to cook and talk and be online and do all of that at the same time. So I think the, the, the experiences and learning from somebody who's from the place. Is beneficial when it's not just when you're not looking for technique. I don't think there's anything wrong with somebody teaching a sushi course from any culture who wants to share how, how to make sushi and, and, and you might have stories from you might have a friend who is from Japan and you're telling stories about your visits there. And I think that's wonderful. Any connection over food? So I agree with you. I, I think the, what I'm getting, not. What I, what's coming to mind is the pendulum swung a little bit. See, I wanna see if you agree with me about five years ago where there was this real backlash against appropriation of cultural dishes. Do you remember that? And yeah. Oh yeah. Very clearly. Yeah. And one of them was somebody, a, a blogger and I forget who it is now. Somebody that was quite well known. She posted a delicious recipe for a soup and it was her recipe and it had. The name Ramen in it. But it wasn't like, this is a traditional ramen. She wasn't misrepresenting it, in my opinion, but there was a lot of backlash that she was, it was cultural appropriation. And Melissa, who's our umbrian host from Italy, we had a good chat about this and she's, and Melissa's hilarious. And she's like, come on, like everybody's not making lasagna. You know, and calling it lasagna. Yeah. It's, yeah. So I think there's a, it's a, it's a delicate, excuse me. It's a delicate balance, I think, because, you know, I am a middle aged white woman from pa, New York and Maryland, and I wanna be, I wanna be super respectful. That's, it's so important to me. To not be like, I'm trying to appropriate something. But that said, like, I don't have a drop of Italian in me, but I can make great Italian food. Right? So it's just, I try to be really careful with it. I try to be super respectful about it because there's so much cool stuff coming from every culture and. You know, I just, I love it so much, but there are things that I'm careful about teaching because I am trying to be more technique based. You know, in that and Mediterranean diet, we're talking principles, right? And that stuff is easy'cause it's, it's. More of an idea of what you'll eat instead of how you'll prepare. I mean, I guess how you'll prep, but you know, it's healthy fats and lean proteins and lots of beans and you know, all of that good stuff. So I feel safe in there. I feel really good in there also. It's made a huge difference in my life. Yeah. So I feel really good about that. But yeah, I, I remember, I remember that was that, you know. We've had a lot here. Yeah. And I think you, you do a, a great job of making, like, you don't want people to be afraid. Like we're, we're talking about learning about culture through food. There's so much you can learn about the ingredients that are being used and why, and the history of the food and oh yeah. I, I'm now learning more about culinary advocacy, which I never had really thought about before and how and identity of, of place, and. The more everybody shares and cooks these dishes, the more those stories and those values get passed around the table, literally. So I think to your point is if, if people are concerned, you just, and this was what was wonderful about our hosts, is you just ask, you know, ask somebody you know, or say like you, like you've just said, now I, I'm not from here, but this is how I am, I do it. Or This is who taught me and this is my story behind it, but. I also think it's great if people aren't afraid to experiment and try and, and learn these dishes themselves as well. Yeah, I agree. I agree. So before we go, do you have anything that you wanna, you wanna tell? I always say I have four listeners, right? Because this is a passion project, let's just say that. But do you have anything special you'd like to share with us? Oh, I'm just, I'm just, super grateful to be here and, and just to have this chance to chat with you, Christine. Honestly, it's like it's, I think I just can't understate the value of connection, and I think connecting through food is such a wonderful way to do it however you do it, even if it means you've been away on a trip and you come home and you wanna share some of the dishes that you tried and the stories behind it. Order takeout and invite some friends over. It doesn't have to be made from scratch and it doesn't have to be complicated. And just remember in your own kitchen, in your travels, every stage of your life, this is, is what's been having a positive influence on me is slow down, savor and smile. Oh, I love that. I love that. And Paula, where can everybody find you? Yes, so explore in my kitchen.com is our community platform, and that has all of our podcasts, all the newsletters are there recipes. It will ask you to sign up because I'm, we're building a community here, but it is free. You can also go to our website in my kitchen.ca and learn more about in my kitchen and what we do. And of course, I think science. I think signing up is a very small price to pay. People don't understand how much time and effort goes into writing a newsletter. You know, you're not popping in in chat. GPT, I've been using an M dash my whole life. Thank you very much. And now I can't use them anymore, but I think that is a very inexpensive price of admission. So. Perfect. I sign up there and then you have your podcast, right? I think we have that podcast. So that's on all, you know, be on your favorite platform or ad Explore in my kitchen.'cause what I found, a lot of people don't use the platform. So part of the creating this community was an easy place to listen.'cause they, I, I really, they are, I think they're amazing. I think they're wonderful.'cause it's the people that I interview that bring so much literally to the table. So that show is if you, in my kitchen with Paula, if you do wanna listen on your own platforms and then on Instagram at in My kitchen, Paula, on Instagram. I listen. Thanks Christine. I love it. I listen, I listen. Of course I do. Paula you're such a ray of sunshine. Thank you for taking the time and for the three hour time difference and all that good stuff. Well, thank you and I really appreciate you having me on the show, Christine. Oh my gosh. Absolutely. Of course. So now y'all know, and I am gonna put it in the show notes as well, so that you can just go and click there to find your way to Paula. And hopefully she's gonna get that kick in again soon, because I think those classes sound amazing and I personally am ready to take them. So Well, I think you and I should do an online class together on for our communities. Sure. Yeah. I man. I'm in my, set it up. Can I just say, my community is like, it's small but mighty and I just love them so much and they show up like once a month. The people that are in my meal plan program come and do a live class with me and they're always smiling and it's just, it's such a boost. It's such a, like emotionally it what? What do we say? It fills my cup. Fills your cup. So I think we could fill some cups. Well, you know what even better is I'll invite my community to your, to sign up for your experiences, and then I'll offer some of the amazing interviews that I've had and bring them on for experience. I love this. I love this. Alright guys, so we have, we have all sorts of good stuff. Paul and I are gonna figure it all out. So thank you for taking the time this week to listen. You are so wonderful and I appreciate you every single week. You know that. And as always, you know that I will see you in the kitchen.

Christine Van Bloem
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Ep 54: The Empty Nest Reset: Finding Your Fall Kitchen Rhythm