Recently I re-encountered a novel that I was fascinated by when I was a teenager. It is an enchanting novel called Like Water For Chocolate by Mexican novelist Laura Esquivel. It is a book with monthly instalments of recipes, romances and home remedies.

The novel follows the story of a young girl named Tita who longs her entire life to marry her lover, Pedro, but can never have him because of her mother’s upholding of the family tradition of the youngest daughter not marrying but taking care of her mother until the day she dies.

Tita has a love of the kitchen and a deep connection with food. Her love for cooking also comes from the fact that she was born in the kitchen. Tita is only able to express herself when she cooks and her strong emotions become infused into her cooking. She unintentionally begins to affect the people around her through the food she prepares.

Two particular incidents kept me reading all night. First is about one particularly rich meal of quail in rose petal sauce flavored with Tita’s erotic thoughts of Pedro, her oldest sister Gertrudis becomes inflamed with lust and leaves the ranch with a revolutionary soldier on the back of a horse. (Remember I was about 16 years old and that really got my attention.) Second incident was about the meal she prepared for her second sister Rosaura and Pedro’s wedding. She was so sad that all the guests felt the sorrow from the food and vomited after.

Leaving the dramas aside, few things really touched my heart, especially when I came across the book the second time. It may sound odd to you but I am a reader who really invests my emotions in the story and mind you I have an overactive imagination as well.

I was really grateful that everyone in my family is kind and loving, unlike Tita’s mother and sister, both often act from their wounds and inflict pain on others. I’ve learned that every relationship is a divine assignment for our soul to grow. But oh boy some of the family dynamics are just tough lessons to get through. I think many people can identify with that too.

Secondly I was stunned with the connection between food and emotions. We had a cook back then, her name was Rose. She always knew what we wanted for dinner. Her food was so good that our friends & family often self-invited themselves to come over during festival times, the happy times.

Rose passed away few years ago, after cooking for us for nearly 2 decades. Her signature dishes are hers, even they are just common Chinese dishes, no other restaurant could make them taste quite like hers.

And the point is, I really miss her.

I miss her food and her presence in our family. We didn’t pay as much attention about how wonderful her cooking was nor realize how important her presence was until we could no longer taste her food and see her at home.

Tita reminds me of Rose. My memories of Rose are so attached to her food because that was the medium where she infused her energy with.

By re-encountering this book, it brought back so much memories and the reflection that we got to express our gratitude to those who are important in our life. Not just over Christmas or at birthdays and special occasions, but be more mindful and thankful in our everyday life as well.

Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions. The more you express gratitude for what you have, the more likely you will have even more to express gratitude for. – Zig Ziglar