Cooking as Meditation

It’s funny how for so many years we’ve been learning ways to better multi-task so we can get more done in less time. Now it seems the thinking is that it is better to be “present”, to be focused on doing a good job on one thing at a time and then moving on to the next.

I have to say that for me cooking really allows me to be present. Whether I am following a recipe or making something up, I need to be present while cooking or everything will get messed up. 

Chopping vegetables or sauteing onions or measuring ingredients are very much like a meditation that keeps me present with the rhythm of it all. At other times of the day I have to remind myself to be present. But when I am cooking, I just am.

With busy schedules it’s not always easy to squeeze in cooking or meditation. Believe it or not you can do both. Especially with dishes that require chopping or stirring. Stir fry and risotto come to mind. Both of which taste way better from scratch. Homemade french fries are also a favorite of mine for this. Piles and piles of potatoes!

The Love of Vegetables

Where did this love begin? If I were to pick an age, I would have to say it began around age five. And if I were to pick a vegetable that began it all, I think it just might be peas.

I’m sure the memories grow fonder as I get older but I can remember shelling a big bowl of peas for dinner and eating almost as many raw as I put in the bowl. Not to mention the ones I ate while picking the peas in the first place. And it was always a contest to see who would find and eat the first of the season.

Growing up my parents always had a huge garden. I can still see tall cornstalks and sprawling cucumbers and zucchini against the black of the soil. We were fortunate at the time to live in a place with very rich black soil. I never appreciated it until I tried to plant my own garden as an adult and realized things don’t always grow well just by planting a seed and watering it. I don’t remember my parents buying vegetables much back then.

One day I hope to have a large garden. But until then I’m fortunate to live in a city with several farmer’s markets and grocery stores that carry organic food.

But I have to say, there is nothing that compares to a vegetable eaten within minutes or even seconds of being picked. And I do think everyone should get to enjoy the deliciousness of a fresh picked carrot, quickly rinsed and eaten with a little dirt still on it.

Snuggling up with a Good Cookbook

 

I love cookbooks! Any time I am in a bookstore you know where to find me. I love to look at the pictures, I use them for cooking new things and I even read them in bed. I read them from cover to cover, always looking for new little tidbits of information or perhaps a new technique or ingredient. 

 

One of my latest purchases has been absolutely wonderful and I highly recommend it. It is Mollie Katzen’s, “The Vegetable Dishes I Can’t Live Without.” I have yet to try a recipe that wasn’t delicious. The recipes are alphabetical by vegetable which makes it easy to find a recipe for whatever you have on hand or is in season. Some recipes are quite simple, such as the Roasted Brussels Sprouts. Others although not difficult do take some time, like the Green Beans Amandine, which have wonderful leek “chips” that take a while to make but are well worth it.

 

I’ve been asked for several recipes of things I’ve made from this book. These recipes have also pursuaded some friends and family that they now “need” this cookbook.

 

And I am happy to note that I’ve discovered someone else who also reads cookbooks in bed.

 

 

Cooking by Instinct (with a little help from my spice rack)

I never really thought I cooked by instinct but I think the addition of my new spice rack has brought out my “creative cooking instincts.” Apparently I get this from my dad’s side of the family. I love cooking a variety of ethnic foods so I have a somewhat large assortment of spices which I had in my two spice racks, the cupboard, the drawer and where ever else I could find room. I really wanted something a bit more convenient and user friendly.

I saw what I wanted in an upscale cooking store but after looking into the cost I decided to find an alternative. It took a bit of research and time to find what I needed but I am ecstatic at the results. I found the metal backing board at IKEA. It’s called Imperativ and at the time came in three different sizes. We had to cut ours to fit our space, which I don’t necessarily recommend because it was a pain. The spice tins took a bit of research also because I wanted square ones and the ones at the store were round and were also a bit expensive for the number of tins I needed. I found what I was looking for at http://custommagneticspicerack.com and could hardly wait for my shipment to arrive.

It didn’t take me long to fill the 37 tins that I purchased. And although I still have some spice blends in the drawer and the cupboard, most of what I need it quite handy to get to. I now find myself creating my own concoctions based on what I have on hand and what spices appeal to me at the time. Often I will open a spice tin and smell it and see if it ”smells” like it would be a good fit for what’s in the pan so far. Sometimes I start with a combination I already know works well from recipes I’ve tried before.

The only problem that this has created is sometimes I make something I absolutely love and there is no way I can replicate it because I didn’t keep track of what and how much I put into it. I suppose there are worse things. Maybe one day I will learn to keep track of this information – just in case.