It happens almost every time. I return home from a trip and, once the jet lag wears off, I find myself feeling a little down. The expectations I had before the trip, and the freedom and wonder I experienced on the road have been replaced with a vague feeling of sadness, a sense of "blah"....

Indigenous food directly connects you to a place--the place literally assimilates into your body--but it also works the other way around. When you're home, food can bring you places by bringing those places into you. The standard Western supermarket has a wall of imported chocolate offering escape. Goya (and competitors) often claim half an aisle,...