The love from my kitchen has traveled thousands of miles.
It has traveled by airplane, car, train, and more than a few well-packed ice chests.
Over the years, I've carried rolling pins, spices, knives, family recipes, and sometimes even my beloved molcajete to gatherings across the country. Whether I'm cooking for a corporate team, teaching a cooking class, speaking at an event, or sharing a meal around someone's kitchen table, I bring more than ingredients with me.
I bring stories.
I bring traditions.
I bring a piece of my heart.
Perhaps that's because I learned from my mama.
Whenever she traveled to visit me, she never arrived empty-handed. She would board a train carrying her rolling pin, spices, favorite kitchen tools, and the ingredients needed to make our family's recipes. Her suitcase was filled with practical treasures, but what she was really bringing was love.
Looking back, I realize I learned from her that food has a remarkable way of making any place feel like home.
What I'm really carrying is love.
I've watched strangers become friends over fresh tortillas. I've seen colleagues laugh together while learning family recipes. I've shared stories about my mother, my grandmother, and the generations of women who taught me that food is one of the most powerful ways we show love.
Every kitchen I enter has the potential to become a gathering place.
Every meal becomes an opportunity to connect.
And every event reminds me that food is never just food.
It is memory.
It is culture.
It is family.
It is belonging.
As I unpack my ice chests and cooking tools in a new city, I'm reminded that the love from my kitchen can travel anywhere.
And so can yours.
You don't need a television show, a cookbook, or a rolling pin packed in your luggage.
You simply need the willingness to share a meal, tell a story, teach a recipe, or invite someone to your table.
Because the most meaningful ingredient has never been found in a recipe.
It's the love we share with one another.
After all, food is one of the oldest ways we say "I love you" in any language.
And that travels farther than any airplane ever could.
Warmly,
Molé Mama