“Food for Thought”

STEP ONE:  WALK INTO YOUR KITCHEN

Dear Friends and Cooking Comrades,

Welcome back home!

Those first steps toward entering the kitchen and actually cooking can seem like the longest mile – maybe even a marathon.  Maybe you’ve never cooked.  Maybe you’ve cooked a little.  Maybe you’ve just gotten out of the habit and need to kick-start yourself.  Or maybe you’re stuck in a rut.

Some days I find it daunting to get into the kitchen and start cooking; I’m too tired, too busy, too something.  There are a hundred reasons I can come up with for avoiding the kitchen, but it’s funny, once I’m there the time just flies.  I get into the “zone” and I find it liberating.  Some of the dishes turn out great, some need revisions, some of the mistakes get eaten.  Some surefire things turn out to be less sure than I thought.  It’s all okay.  Growth is so exciting, perfection is so dull!

Every time I prepare a dish or work with ingredients they are always a little different.  The surprises and variety are what make cooking really interesting.  It keeps me on my toes.  No two apples have the same sweetness and crispness.  No two tomatoes have the same level of firmness and acidity.  No two legs of lamb are ever exactly the same.  It’s always fascinating.

So don’t fake yourself out or scare yourself into not jumping in and cooking.  It is such a wonderful thing.  And the more you do it, the better you’ll become.  Walk through the door of your kitchen and say hello.

Owning a kitchen and not cooking is like having a car and not driving, or having a swimming pool and not swimming.  It’s a terrible waste.  You and I have such a terrific creative outlet right at hand – the kitchen.  Can’t sleep?  Cook.  Can’t figure out a problem?  Cook.  Got the blues?  Cook.  Jumping for joy?  Cook.  Make something.  Work with your hands.  Double the recipe and make something extra for a friend in need.  No judgments or self-punishment.  Take raw ingredients and create culinary magic.  It is balm for a weary soul.

You are useful.  You and I can cook.

Now stop reading this and get in there and whip something up.  Take those first steps and get into your kitchen, it may seem like the longest mile to get there, but once you are there it is bliss.  I’m cheering you on!

Yours,

Chef  David