I have always been obsessed with food. While other kids spent their allowance on toys or books or baseball cards, I made my way down to the gourmet lollipop and spent my earnings on sugar confections that looked as inviting as they tasted. I vividly remember walking into the small front of the shop, the wall covered with compartments that held drawers of gummy bears, speckled jawbrakers ranging in size from the head of a pin to a softball, rainbow colored salt water taffy stretched thin and ornamented with old fashioned packaging, penny gum cigarettes that let out a puff of sugar smoke, and feeling all the while I was home. Holly Golightly had her tiffany's, Holly Tanner had her candy shop. And nothing very bad could happen there.
As I grew older my love of food didn't change. I still spent the majority of my money on food, only this time I discovered that I could recreate all the dishes I loved at home. Imagine that. Instead of buying gourmet food in shops, I started buying items to make it myself. Beside the fun of buying the dishes and utensils for cooking, was the hunt for ingredients that make each dish unique. In the process I found there is something cathartic about cooking.
I read once that the downfall of society began when we started utilizing the assembly line. Suddenly people were becoming disconnected with their crafts- with what defined them. Instead of making a beautiful bookshelf, or building a wagon, they became the worker who cut the wood or turned a screw. There was no pride in the finished product. It's for this reason that I love cooking. From the moment the oil sizzles on the skillet, to the laying of fragrant dishes on the table you are in charge of the whole creative process. Whether it be a masterpiece or a flop it's yours.
Is it any wonder that the kitchen is the busiest room in the house? Everyone loves to be there. And I invite you to join mine.
