THE SCENE: Photography Teaches

I step up onto the soft seat cushion and bend my head under the low ceiling.

Time to snap some pictures. I hold my breath, teetering over the banana tart, willing myself not to fall.

That’s when Keith pops in the room (he’s home to help care for our sick, feverish daughter) and snaps a picture of me (see above).

As I swivel my head to see what he’s doing I almost fall over, right onto the lattice work grid.

But before I can turn my head, he’s gone.

Finding myself in such a precarious situation gets me thinking about the lessons I’ve learned from photography.

Over the last few years I’ve learned that taking interesting photos is a lot like living a good life.

• Every once in a while we must get new perspective – see the world through fresh eyes.
• We must let the “light” in.
• We have to care enough to try (again and again), even when things aren’t going the way we want them to.

For example:

I recently had a disagreement with someone. I was really tempted to walk away from the situation without resolving it. It just seemed too difficult. But this is reality. Arguments are reality.

In fact, our inability to solve these petty arguments are why we don’t have peace in the world. 

If we can’t fix problems with our friends, how can we hope to find understanding with people a million miles away?

So, instead of following my instinct and running away, I held my breath and faced the situation – teetering just on the edge of balance. In the process I…

• got new perspective by putting myself in their shoes – I saw the world through their eyes.
• surrounded my thoughts of them with the light of kindness and love.
•  made time to work through the disagreement with understanding, even when I felt attacked.

Ginger n’ Spice Tomato Sauce (Rougaille) [Recipe]

What I loved most about this dish:

Rougaille is a snap to throw together, even on a week night. Both Keith and I remarked on how amazing the flavors were – the bit of ginger, spices, and fresh herbs make for an outrageously good sauce… perfect with shrimp and sausage, although local Mauritians even enjoy it vegan-style: plain on white rice. Poor Ava, pretty well knocked out by the flu, still ate this dish.

What I loved least about this dish:

Not much. The recipe as I wrote it only makes enough sauce for one meal. Next time I’ll double or triple the batch so I can have leftovers to freeze.

Mauritian Chili Poppers (Gateaux Piments) [Recipe]

What I loved most about this dish:

The crispy crunch, coupled with earthy cumin and golden yellow turmeric is a comforting foil to the fresh springy flavor of green onions and cilantro. This is such a fun, “poppable” dish. Even Keith loved this. Who knew he’d ever say he liked something vegan and gluten free?

What I loved least about this dish:

I ate almost all of these, except for 3 which Keith and Ava shared. Whoops.

Mauritian Banana Tart [Recipe]

What I loved most about this dish:

This is has “baby’s first dessert” written all over it – ten bananas, a pinch of sugar (which can be left out), and a delicate lattice crust. Perfect. I loved it. Ava was too ill to try this one, so I’ll have to make it again sometime soon.

What I loved least about this dish:

Keith said it reminded him of baby food, although he did eat an entire slice.

Ava’s Corner: