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?
And I mean this gem, from Nigella, as highlighted by a goodreads review, is just so good…
“you will never hear me talking about “healthy” food. I loathe the term, but not as much as i am disgusted by the contemporary mantra of ‘clean eating.’ Food is not dirty, the pleasures of the flesh are essential to life and, however we eat, we are not guaranteed immortality or immunity from loss. We cannot control life by controlling what we eat.”
Most of us have experienced loss as well as pressure to eat more “clean.” But what i need is to heal and enjoy. Not deprive. Just so fucking good.