“Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.”
-Carl Jung
The Dinner for Myself(s) is a series of meals I am creating for myself. They are an exploration of my personal archetypes and what their favorite foods are. I am taking the exploratory nature of the Taste Matters platform and turning it inward: how can understanding my favorite foods, cooking methods, and tastes allow me to discover and connect better with myself? How can they facilitate a wakefulness in my subconscious?
As unique individuals, I believe we are made up of a range of parts (or archetypes) that create a whole self. When these parts become disconnected and strained, it can cause behavior that is puzzling to others and us. Did I really just say that? Why would he think that? What is she doing? Through the Dinner for Myself(s) projects, my aim is to connect with feelings and beliefs that lie in the heart of my unconscious.
Carl Jung, an early twentieth century psychologist, and his research has helped spark my imagination in this project. His theories of archetypes, the collective unconscious, complex theories, and individuation have become the starting point for my approach to Dinner with Myself(s).
Individuation: to become aware of and accept the full range of our personal being.
I decided to explore the idea of Jungian archetypes within myself. Who are they? More interestingly, what would they eat? It sounds funny, but thinking, writing, and dreaming about my personal archetypes favorite foods has been deeply fulfilling. I have been able to bring my personal range of parts into a tangible state, allowing me to explore them more clearly and bring a new level of understanding of myself to, well, myself.
This first dinner was made for only two archetypes. They make themselves apparent in the forms of a six-year-old girl, also known in Jungian theory as the “anima”, and a seventeen-year-old girl, also known as the Maiden. The Lentil Coconut soup is warm and filling and was made for the maiden. It has an intricate flavor base of ginger, fennel, garlic, and mustard seed that parallels the elaborate feelings of this young woman. It tells her that she is important, an individual like no other, and empowers her through these bold and complimentary tastes. The Dutch Apple Pie was made for the anima. This young girl loves to experiment in the kitchen, to try new things, and is ceaselessly asking questions. Even the process of making this pie had its roots based in problem solving, as it had to be converted from metrics into cups. The pie was reminiscent of my grandmother’s apple kuchen, a generations-old family recipe. While the kuchen is an all time favorite, the anima in myself cannot help but want to explore new methods of combining the same ingredients to create new tastes and textures.
Dinner for Myself Recipes:
Dutch Apple Pie
This is an authentic recipe that would make any of the bakeries in Amsterdam jealous. You can find the original (still in metrics) at Once Upon a Tart, a blog by a Swedish woman who might love baking as much as me.
-For the Dough
3 cups flour
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 eggs3-4 tablespoons ice water
pinch of salt
-For the Filling
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup golden raisins
cinnamon
rind of a lemon
Mix butter, flour, sugar and 1 1/2 eggs to a firm dough. Leave to rest in the fridge 30 min. In the mean time, peel the apples, cut into chunks and mix them with the rest of the ingredients for the filling.
Roll out the dough, grease a high walled tin (10 inch/25 cm diameter) and cover it with the dough, cut off the overhanging bits and re-roll to use them later for the decoration on top. Fill the pastry with the apple mix, Add the lattice work (optional) and coat this with the leftover egg. Bake at 355°F for 60-70 min. Leave to cool slightly and serve with whipped cream.
Lentil Soup with Swiss Chard
Recipe adopted from the Moosewood restaurant
1 1/4 cup lentils
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons mustard seeds
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons grated ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups rinsed, drained, and chopped fresh swiss chard (mustard greens or spinach)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 can coconut milk
Rinse the lentils and drain. In a soup pot, bring 5 cups of water, the lentils, and salt to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until tender, about 30 minutes.
While the lentils cook, warm the oil in a saucepan on medium heat, add the black mustard seeds and cover until they pop. Stir in the fennel, red pepper flakes, ginger, and garlic and cook for a minute stirring constantly. Add the greens and salt and cook, stirring frequently, until the greens are just wilted. Stir in the coconut milk and simmer for a minute. Remove from the heat.
When the lentils are soft, stir in the greens and coconut milk mixture and add salt to taste.
Lentil Soup with Swiss Chard
Rinse the lentils and drain. In a soup pot, bring 5 cups of water, the lentils, and salt to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until tender, about 30 minutes.
While the lentils cook, warm the oil in a saucepan on medium heat, add the black mustard seeds and cover until they pop. Stir in the fennel, red pepper flakes, ginger, and garlic and cook for a minute stirring constantly. Add the greens and salt and cook, stirring frequently, until the greens are just wilted. Stir in the coconut milk and simmer for a minute. Remove from the heat.
When the lentils are soft, stir in the greens and coconut milk mixture and add salt to taste.
