Cooking - “the
practice or skill of preparing food by combining, mixing and heating
ingredients”, “the art, technology, science and craft of preparing food for
consumption”, “the activity of preparing or cooking food”.
I love the words in
these definitions of practice, skill, preparing, art, craft, activity.
Towards the end of
last year when I was working very long hours, I felt overwhelmed and highly
anxious and felt I could never get all of my work done. Work crept into all of the other areas of my
life and so much of my waking hours was consumed by my work. During these 6 months I was getting home late
and didn’t have much time to cook and it was definitely about my hubby
organising the meals or myself throwing something together for my family. It was quick and stressful and a chore. Just trying to think about what to make and
making sure my children would eat the meal was a big deal in itself too.
I decided to start
doing 'Marley Spoon', where I was getting a delivery once a week of 3 or 4 meal preparation
kits and recipes. I found this a great
way to get back into Cooking and through 'Marley Spoon' (which I still do for 2
meals a week) I love the convenience of having food and ideas on hand and love
learning new dishes. Starting 'Marley
Spoon' last year, reignited a love of Cooking, and definitely brought me Joy.
It was great for my
hubby to make dishes for him yet not always so great for my children, where
sometimes they loved the recipes and other times it was not a win.
Once Covid
restrictions hit and we were isolated at home and with our regular delivery of
our fruit and vegetable box, I have loved the opportunity to be more organised
with planning meals and I love Cooking for my family. I love the process of Cooking which brings me
Joy - looking in the fridge to stocktake ingredients, Googling ideas and
recipes, kindly asking my great hubby to pick up any extra items we might need
and then getting the ingredients out on the counter, getting out my stainless
steel bowls, chopping ingredients, using garlic which I love for flavour, cooking
on the fry pan or putting the dish in the oven.
I love the final dish
and love taking photos and feel a sense of pride at what I have achieved in my
Cooking.
I love serving the
meals for my family and love when they are happy enjoying what I have prepared
for them. And I feel Joyful when I find
my Cooking healthy and tasty too.
The clean up after
the Cooking would not be my favourite part yet I think this is also an art and reflects and put into practice the skills of
being organised and persistent to push through and get the job done. And once the dishwasher starts (thank
goodness for dishwashers), and the kitchen counter is clean, this definitely brings
Joy.
I have been really
enjoying Cooking soups and frittatas and vegetable dishes and tonight I am looking
forward to making a noodle and cabbage salad as part of our dinner. Even though I do not eat meat, I do enjoy
Cooking this for my hubby and making him feel loved and cared for by me. I love Cooking and sharing where last night I
made a frittata and will be taking some to my Parents’ home tomorrow.
Cooking has become
enjoyable and a hobby for me now, and it definitely brings me Joy. I also love that it offers the opportunity to
bring others Joy too.
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