Revisit

As a child, Sunday afternoons involved two things—Rice Krispies and melted dark chocolate. These afternoons were the beginnings of my passion for cooking. One Christmas I got a kids Edmonds Cookbook and when I baked the carrot cake from page 42 everything changed.  It was really, really delicious. I was elated. I could make something more complex than chocolate Rice Krispies!

I’ve since experimented with flavours and cuisines.  I’ve had triumphs and failures, but I’ve learnt along the way. And here’s the thing, as much as I enjoy eating; I enjoy the process of cooking all the more. 

Whilst we’re in isolation, as I’ve not wanted to go to the supermarket too much, I’m being a lot more economical with my food purchases.  For example, over Easter I did a roast lamb and with the remaining meat, I turned it into a lamb ragu which I had with homemade pasta (TO DIE FOR).  A roast chicken was reincarnated into a risotto. Overripe bananas—banana loaf. Honestly, it’s been so delightful (and a welcome brain break) to operate in this way.  I’ve even ventured into bread making (like the rest of the planet). But for this I needed high quality flour. And so I combined my shopping for “essential” food items, with my need for “essential” exercise and walked a total of 2.5 hours (there and back again) to go to a cafe that was selling the best flour in the biz—perfect for bread and pasta and my next adventure, BAGELS! Yep, I’m doing it. 

So why do I tell you this? Though I love cooking and food, I’ve had a disposable view of it. I know it’s bad. Sorry. I’m easily influenced by food marketers and I’m kinda impulsive. I often find myself wanting something to eat based on an advert. Weak. But these weird days we find ourselves in have forced me to return to my childhood joy of making again. It’s forced me to revisit why I played with food the way I did when I was a kid. Simply, I did it for the process and for the pleasure. For me, cooking is a satisfying creative act. Through combining, beating and heating a bunch of ingredients you end up with a masterpiece, all in a few minutes or hours. Satisfying. Writing longform, writing books takes months and in some instances—years, so it’s been wonderful to create in an afternoon, in an evening. I find it re-energises me and that’s a wonderful feeling.

Perhaps there is something in your childhood worth revisiting.  For the simple process, for the simple pleasure. Next up for me—pencil drawing. Just waiting on my special pencils and a ‘how to’ book to arrive!

Cheering you on…

SB