Obviously its a necessity to feed ourselves, but im talking deeper here. What inspires you? Who are your muses? What beyond the basic need to eat keeps you excited about food?
I am endlessly inspired by Nigella Lawson and her entire ethos around cooking. “Food is both a pleasure palace and a sanctuary.” “Cooking is a balm in troubled times.” “Food has the ability to make a real difference, every single day.” So many amazing quotes of hers ring around my head when im in the kitchen.
For me, cooking is spiritual, practical, creative and scientific all at once. It gets me on my feet, off my screen, and allows me to nourish myself and those I love. It requires all of my senses and no matter how practiced a recipe is there is always an element of improvisation.
I could go on, but im much more curious…why do you cook?
To show my family I love them; to try new foods, ingredients, and recipes; and to (sometimes) reduce stress.
My wife knows I’ve had a bad week if I start a dish with like four hours of prep and an overnight rest on Saturday for eating Sunday night.
And sometimes it’s a bit of a challenge: unexpected guests or situation where you cannot go to the store and have to work with what you’ve got.
I feel that. Sometimes an ordeal of a recipe is exactly what I need to process and move through.