Women: Elaborate and Simple

March – the season of bees gathering honey, of butterflies drifting over the paths, of coffee blossoms in full bloom, of heaven and earth meeting in the gentle spring air. My steps danced along the bumpy slopes of the land of a thousand flowers. In March, not treating myself to a trip far away would feel like letting myself down, I thought.

A new friend took us to her garden, where long rows of lush tomato plants peeked out with plump ripe fruit. After another walk of about a kilometre, we wound our way along a narrow path between beds of strawberries and raspberries in a neighbour’s garden. The kind middle-aged owner handed us a pretty little rattan basket for picking. The glossy black of the raspberries and the bright red of the strawberries sparkled in the afternoon sun. I filled the basket, and before we left she offered us a drink pressed from the freshly picked raspberries. Its gentle tartness spread from my palate down my throat, as cool as the weather.

I had the idea of going back to my friend’s wooden kitchen, picking some lettuce from the patch beside it, and making a salad with a raspberry dressing. This was hardly the first time I had cooked on a whim like that. A pretty plate created spontaneously from ingredients found wherever I happen to be is my favourite choice on every trip. They look both elaborate and simple.

Choosing what is good in season and what is at hand in the kitchen is much like how a woman chooses her happiness – both elaborate and simple. Elaborate, because she must love beauty, know herself well and recognise what makes her happy in order to choose the right ingredients for her dish and for her life. Simple, because she need not look far; she only has to look around, focus on where she is and cherish the small things before her eyes. Happiness, after all, is never far away.

The salad was perfect for an afternoon snack as the sun softened and began to give way to cool breezes. I drizzled a dressing of raspberry juice, oil, vinegar, honey and pepper – a few basics already in the kitchen – over the tender lettuce leaves and plump ripe fruit. In March, I pampered myself the way women can be fierce and gentle at once, balancing masculine and feminine, neither too sentimental before a lovely landscape nor too hardened to ignore their feelings.

Recipe: Your favourite fruit and vegetables

Quantity: As you like

Raspberry dressing: Mix 6 tablespoons of olive oil or 4 tablespoons of rice bran oil with 2 tablespoons of raspberry juice, 2–3 tablespoons of honey, 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar and a little ground pepper.

_Published in Đẹp magazine, March 2023 issue. Shared here today for the women I love .