Getting Back Into Cooking

I find that many people I talk to, talk about getting back into cooking again.

Like they used to do it once a long time ago… But it is foreign to them now.

Food is my art medium so I can’t relate to having left it behind. But I can relate to the gratitude for the muscle memory. When I wipe the counter down, set out the cutting board and chop that first vegetable. Onion perhaps.

I feel myself return to the rhythm. My hands know how to make short order of the work. Chop both ends off. Peel off the skin. Cut it in half. Turn it down to the flat side. Slice against the grain, turn it and slice again. Don’t get too close so you don’t end up crying before you make it to the hot pan.

I find myself taking a deep breath here. There is no hurry in the sense that it just takes a specific amount of heat and time to achieve the result. Both can be adjusted but only so far before tipping a balance. So in the space created by the practice I can breathe and find my own nourishing balance.

Cooking is a full sensory experience: Tears from the slice, smell the sweetness of heat caramelized sugar, and the shades of combining flavor as other foods are added. Heat plus time brings the release of flavor and juices. Attention helps you find the right balance of heat, time, sweet, sour, salt and bitter. Better than a recipe alone.

You know what you like; knowing how to get there requires practice. I hope to communicate that sensory experience when I teach or reacquaint someone to the practice of cooking. We all have to eat. Shouldn’t it be good?