KitchenCosmologyNourishing Engagement with the Living Universe

"Cooking provides a metaphor and a vehicle for making our lives whole: finding pleasure in handling food instead of thinking pleasure comes when the work is over. Experiencing the simple joys of creating with wheat and corn, tomatoes and arugula, instead of thinking that joy is not having to relate to anything."  ~ Ed Brown, Tomato Blessings and Radish Teachings

"Cooking is not merely a time-consuming means to an end, but is itself healing, meditation, and nourishment. . . We sell ourselves short when we concentrate on instant relief and instant gratification and do not see that work is how we make our love manifest"  ~ Ed Brown, Tomato Blessings and Radish Teachings

Radical Creativity in the Kitchen

Cooking. When you say that word, what do you think of? For many of us, cooking is a chore: Figuring out what to make. Going to the grocery store. Chopping, sautéing, steaming. The mess in the kitchen. Rushing around trying to get a meal on the table. The sink full of pots and pans and dishes.

                The image isn’t pretty and these days more people than not are opting out. They are buying dinner from the prepared meal bar at Whole Foods or Safeway, ordering take-out, or zapping a frozen entrée in the microwave. Why should we care?

                We all have to eat. Eating is how we nourish our bodies, and eating is the most basic way we love and care for ourselves.  When we relinquish the task of cooking to other people in other kitchens, we give up control over what we eat. Even more fundamentally, we lose the opportunity of developing the rich and intimate relationship with both our bodies and the Earth that comes from cooking for ourselves.

                What and how we eat is also one of the easiest ways that we can help to shape a different future on the planet. Over the past 50 years, we’ve moved from primarily small-scale local food systems to a global, corporate-controlled food industry.  In the 1950’s almost every state in this country had the ability to feed its population. These days, the average food travels 1,500 miles before it arrives on your supermarket shelf. Nearly 17% of fossil fuel use in the United States is related to the food industry. And factory farming of beef, pork and chicken is a major contributor to ground water pollution.

Bringing consciousness to what we eat, and cooking with fresh, local ingredients, are important ways of helping to create more sustainable local economies and a more sustainable planet. By “voting with our forks” we help keep small local farmers in business, support artisan producers of high quality organic foods, and begin to build a food industry that nourishes both our health and the health of the more than human communities of which we are a part.

               Cooking well is not rocket science. I encourage you to bring your creativity into the kitchen. In support of that, here are a few of my favorite thoughts about cooking:

1. Recipes are not cast in stone. Anytime you are looking at a recipe, remember: someone, somewhere just made this up!
2. First and foremost, cook to please yourself.  There is no “right way” that something is supposed to taste. If you want more or less garlic, more or less lemon, more or less salt, adjust accordingly.
3. Feel free to substitute and experiment. If you don’t have – or can’t find – arugula, use spinach. No kalamata olives, try black olives instead or leave the olives out all together.  Be creative.

                If you are new to cooking, be patient with yourself. Start simply and trust your instincts. Remember rule number 2: Cook to please yourself! Several years ago, a friend invited me over for a lovely Fall dinner: Sweet potatoes baked in the oven, cut open and served with butter. Sliced shiitake mushrooms and sweet red peppers sautéed in olive oil with a bit of garlic. Scrambled eggs with a shaving of fresh parmesan on top. Remember, start with the freshest most alive food you can find and you’ll be more than halfway there.

                As you gain comfort in the kitchen, your palette – the ingredients and techniques you’ve become familiar with, and your palate – your unique set of likes and dislikes, will begin to work together. You’ll see new ways of combining foods and begin to create your own cooking style. This is when the fun begins!

                Cooking for yourself with fresh, local and organic ingredients is the healthiest way to eat – both for our bodies and for the Earth. Cooking is also a great way to slow down, develop the ability to be present, and to love and care for yourself, your friends and your family. Last, but not least, cooking brings us deeply into our senses and our bodies, and gives us an opportunity to express our unique creativity. Bon Appetit!