Cooking, likewise, is not about cooking. It's about taste and the people you are cooking for; having a social life, keeping a diet, entertaining, impressing, showing off, family, celebration, HUNGER!
Let's develop one possible chain of the meaning of cooking.
I cook today because I've invited some friends over. I invited them because I haven't seen them in a while and contact is necessary to nourish the friendships. I need friends in my life and I am grateful for the quality people who have consented to the unwriten friendship contract. I want to nourish my friendships because the process is fun, and because nourishing is much funner than fixing the damage. It is definitely better than having no friends and being lonely. It is an investment into the quality of my own life and those of my friends. Finally, quality, because life (like all other things) is not about surviving, it's about HAVING A LIFE.
Do I cook to have a life? It's a stretch. But cooking is not about cooking, nor about survival. If it were, I'd simply go to McD - it's cheaper, faster, and ensures an earlier ending to the living misery without content (cuz everybody dies, right?).
Instead, I think of the people I've invited, their allergies, preferences, season, occasion, I go shopping, I prepare the kitchen and plan time to make it work. I make a dessert, open a bottle of wine, set the table really nice, maybe decorate the table. I look forward to this event.
If we fail to see the process of preparing the food as a means to something, we have missed the whole point alltogether. This way though, we can cook not only with skill and ingredients, but with a heart. And THAT, my friends is what makes this thing worth the effort.
Out of all the time consuming things in life, food preparation is one that pays dividends long after the investment and on many levels.
I once hosted a small dinner party for my birthday, and I made the Roman Chicken that my guests still talk about. One of them later even became my husband! Maybe because of the chicken?... I don't have a picture (of the Chicken), but although this blog is actually not about cooking, as you might have guessed, I will post some recipes that I consider worth sharing. Honestly, there is a multitude of cook books, websites, youtube videos, pinterest posts and blogs to provide you with ideas and recipes for any occasion. I want to talk about the real subject of cooking, life.
OK, maybe you don't drink coffee. And maybe you don't really think much of having the hippest hairstyle. But you should cook. Even if it's not a daily thing, it is a necessary ingredient in having a life.
Learning it is an adventure, sharing it is fun (maybe embarrassing, but still funny), serving it is loving; making food yourself will give you more interest to try new things, and appreciation for other people's efforts - when it's their turn to cook for you.
I like having guests. I LOVE cooking for them. My husband and I have recently received a gluten free cook book as a first-anniversary gift from the family Vh. The ideas are amazing and I can't wait to try out some recipes.
But for our family group meeting passed Friday, I made this fuzzy pumpkin cassarole.
See, it doesn't have to be something extravagant and special. Very ordinary things can turn into a feast when you give great people a reason to come together.
