I love to cook, always have. I was teased as a kid that when I get married the house will be my wife's but the kitchen will be mine.
Recently in a conversation with my kids one of them said "mom wants your recipe for tuna salad." And the other said something like "Mom's is good, but yours is the best." My first thought was "that's impossible, I make it different almost every time." Sometimes I use mustard, sometimes not; sometimes I use a bit of Worcestershire sauce, sometimes not, etc.
Then I thought about what I do put into my tuna salad each and every time I make it, other than Solid White Albacore in spring water, mayonnaise and chopped onion (sometimes red, sometimes brown, sometimes white). The common ingredient in every batch of tuna salad, in fact everything I cut, chop, prepare, cook or bake is my thoughts and feelings. I'm thinking about how much I love my kids, how much they enjoy the food I prepare, that I thoroughly enjoy cooking for the people I love, I enjoy getting compliments for what I made, etc. And of course other thoughts like "the noodles cook for 15 minutes, sauce heats up in 10, garlic toast is a quick 3 minutes DON'T LET IT BURN!, get the table set, fill the glasses, etc."
These good feelings and happy thoughts pass from me into the foods I'm preparing. The thought energy blends with the food's energy. You can taste the love and care I put into my foods. In a way, preparing and eating food is as much a physical process as it is an act of love.
Cooking is at once child's play and adult joy.
And cooking done with care is an act of love.
- Craig Claiborne
Over the years of learning and practicing cooking, metaphysics and energy work I've put together a short list of ideas to think about when working with food.
PLANNING AND PREPARATIONFocus your intent on what you want from the meal you are preparing. Is this a romantic meal? Think of how sensuous the meal will be. Think about how the night will go. (wink wink) Is the meal a holiday feast? Allow your warm and caring thoughts for your family flow from you into the sauces, potatoes, meats, veggies and the bread or cookie dough before baking. Even a routine nightly meal is a good time to imbue the foods with thoughts of love for your family. If you are eating alone, take a minute and put in some thoughts of love and care for yourself.
FRESH FROM THE GARDEN VS. STORE BOUGHTAs a child, every Sunday we went to my grandfather's for dinner. He grew apricots, figs, avocados, tomatoes, grapefruit, oranges, herbs and more. Eating from those plants was a wonderfully delicious experience. Food picked fresh from a garden a few minutes to a couple hours ago is the best tasting food I've ever eaten. It's just bursting with vitality and flavor. The taste excites the mouth like nothing else.
When growing your own foods you can put in your thought energy into nurturing the plant. I'm sure you've heard that talking to plants helps them grow and thrive. Sure plants will grow with water and fertilizer and children will grow with food and water. But a child, in fact anyone, will thrive and prosper with positive encouragement and a supportive environment. So will plants. When I had a garden I talked with my herbs all the time. Neighbors complimented my plants asking what special fertilizers I used, I'd tell them I talked with them.
USE WHOLE REAL FOODSFor some people, like me now-a-days, having a garden is not an option nor practical. So, I buy my fruits and vegetables at stores or farmers markets. I do my best to buy from the outer perimeter of the store, away from the packaged and process foods. Well, as much as possible. Real, unprocessed food tastes better than packaged and processed foods. I don't even need to mention all the chemicals used in processing packaged foods.
Although not grown in your garden, they are obviously more alive than the box or canned variety. Still, when preparing your foods, think of loving and caring thoughts about your loved ones and those thoughts will be served with your meal.
VEGETARIAN (Full-time/Part-time)
Think about this, what you eat is energy. Eat animals, you are eating animal energy. I've heard some people say "I didn't scratch and claw my way up the food chain, just to eat vegetables." Fine. But at least look into reducing your meat intake, try some vegetarian meals every once in awhile. I still eat meat, but significantly less than years ago. I often make vegetarian selections in restaurants or even choose a vegetarian restaurant. Don't knock it until you try it.
Nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances
for survival of life on Earth as much as the
evolution to a vegetarian diet.
- Albert Einstein
ARRANGEMENTOr as they rate on Iron Chef, presentation. Every restaurant I've worked in, always mentioned the importance of presentation of every plate as it leaves the kitchen. So take a moment to prepare the plates before seating. If you sit family style where everyone grabs their own serving from a community pot/platter/bowl, etc., then at least set an attractive table. A tablecloth, runner or small arrangement of flowers does wonders. (Hmmm, maybe I should start another blog on home decorating. Watch out Martha!)
I usually plate the food for my kids in the kitchen. While arranging the food, I like to use broccoli for ears, carrot sticks for hair or eyebrows, olives make nice eyes, mash potatoes piled in the center of the plate make a good nose. You get the idea. The idea is to put in a little thought that makes the meal something a little different, a little special. Something that says you put thought into preparation.
As deliberate creators, we spend time thinking about feeding our minds, visualizing our dreams and goals, who we want to be. I suggest we also think about what we eat and it's preparation to sustain our body as well as our minds. After all, we will be thinking when preparing the food anyway, might as well think of good, happy, loving thoughts.
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