I’ve been living on take out pizza lately. I haven’t made a dent into my holiday baking yet, but I’m sure there’s still time (right?). Luckily, I did manage to eek out some pretty fantastic whole wheat biscuits on the weekend. And tonight I resisted the ease of picking up the phone for delivery and took time out of my crazy work schedule to make peace with my neglected kitchen. I looked in cupboards and rooted through the back of the fridge and I managed to cook a wonderful Maritime-style fish chowder (I’ll post the recipe later). It was good to take a break because it meant time to myself doing what I enjoy doing: chopping, stirring, smelling, tasting. My good, calm, reassured old self came flooding back with every turn of the spoon and it was like I had never left.
The same “kitchen as restorative” feeling came last Friday. I was attending the party of this lovely lady later in the evening, but I was freaking about about whether I could make the time to bring something, let alone even show up (although what excuse could I make since she lives just one floor below in the same building). So instead of panicking over the emails in my inbox, I headed to the kitchen where I chopped, blended and sauteed myself back into a better frame of mind. After the dip had been made and the spoon had been licked (because that is a cook’s prerogative), I realized that everything under control. Taking the time out to cook helped to sort out my thoughts and gave me the time away from the computer to put things into perspective. And during a holiday when everything seems kind of crazy, it’s nice to escape into cooking.
Now go on and grab that red lentil curry dip and pita chips over at Poppytalk. It’s delicious and healthy and possibly just the thing to soothe your harried soul.
