“If food be the music of love, cook on!” -Me misquoting Shakespeare
If there’s one thing that gets me through my arduous days, it’s the thought of coming home to create some wacky elaborate meal made from ingredients collected on my way home and whatever we have left in the fridge. If there’s one way to my heart, its through food! Whenever I eat anything I turn into that one scene from Ratatouille when Remy gets his grubby little paws on some cheese and strawberries and shapes and colors burst from his head. The ability to create something so joyous that the only way to enjoy it is through pure tactile experience is just impeccable to me.
Recently, I’ve been going out of my way to learn new recipes and kitchen technique to elevate my love for not only eating but for cooking. As a kid I learned how to cook the ready to eat meals from our freezer and pantry because I wanted to learn how that kitchen magic happened. From then I started to experiment more in my cooking endeavors with adding a dash of a sauce here and there or testing out if I could replace milk with heavy cream to make a boxed mac and cheese better (from my experience the answer is yes). As a college student on a quite tight budget I’ve had to get even more crafty with my substitutions and additions in my meals. Although I spend much of my day creating pieces for my studio classes and stretching the limits of my mind, I find the creativity I exert in my cooking process to be a very freeing form of expression outside of my artistic practice. I love being able to make something that can not only nourish my body but also my mind and my creative spirit. Being able to share this creation, whether it be with my family or my roommates, also feeds my happiness just as much. I never really considered food and cooking to be an artistic form, or at least I never really thought too much into it, but reflecting on my relationship to cooking has made me realize that it’s just as much an artistic practice as the work I do in the studio. There’s so much skill, wisdom, problem-solving, and love that gets put into the act of cooking that I feel I often forget about but still experience every time I cook. I feel so lucky on the days I’m able to be in the kitchen making something that makes me happy. The kitchen truly is the heart of a home as I think back to all the memories created through cooking with or just standing around and talking amongst loved ones. Even if you’re not a fan of cooking, I hope you’re able to still find joy in this special act of creation and sharing.
To take into our next week:
Ins: POTATOES!!!!, fermentation, layering like an onion, a cheesy sense of humor, having an adventurous palette, flexibility and not being afraid of a little substitution.
Outs: Not dressing up for a halloween party (you know who you are), upturning your nose at unfamiliar things, stirring the pot a little too much, being a pot and calling the kettle black, having more than your fair share.
Compliments to the chefs in the audience and I hope you didn’t mind my corniness too much in this week’s entry ;P
