a place at the table

Yesterday was my last class in my 6 week culinary series that I got as a gift from my husband for my birthday/christmas present. I really learned a lot and highly recommend Culinary Communion as a place to check out for anyone interested in taking a series, or even an individual class. These stairs lead up to the house.

Below is a salad I made yesterday with the first egg I’ve ever poached. Actually, the first poached egg I’ve ever eaten. I loved how we made little nests out of the frisee for the egg to sit in. Making food can be a lot like creating art. It doesn’t have to be, of course. But when there is a harmony between taste, flavor, aroma, texture, color…how can it not be considered art?

I’ve always enjoyed the physical aspects of cooking. Chopping is meditative for me. When I chop, I chop. When I stir, I stir. Too often during the day, my mind gets cluttered by so many competing thoughts. When I cook, as when I paint, my mind quiets.

I came across this little pamphlet about a documentary called How to Cook Your Life. I haven’t seen it, but there was a paragraph in the pamphlet that I liked:

“By cooking we share in the effort that sustains our lives; we share in the bountifulness of the world. Onions and potatoes, apples and lettuces are intimately interconnected with earth and sky, sun and water. Giving and receiving, they do their best.”

As much as I love cooking and eating good, healthy food, I still have many evenings where I just don’t have the energy to cook or even think about what to eat. Luckily though, there’s a Thai restaurant a block away from my house. mmmm. We eat there once a week. I have a weakness for spring rolls.