The Spiritual Practice of....Cooking

Research has shown that of all the senses, smell may be the most highly evocative. Whether it is fresh cut grass, a whiff of Grandma's favorite perfume or fresh baked oatmeal cookies, these fragrances can transport us back to a different time and place.

Food not only sustains us but is a powerful trigger of memories through all our senses!   The art of cooking provides nourishment for the belly and creates a sacred place where memories become alive and tangible!

Cooking is also a calming and settling process where I can forget what is troubling me by concentrating on the slicing of vegetables and the kneading of bread dough. When I am angry or disappointed or worried, most often I head to the kitchen, not to eat, but instead  to enmesh myself in recipes written in my grandmother's nearly indecipherable hand; the index card yellowed with age and splotched with decades of small drips from the mixing spoon. 

On a Sunday morning during a particularly difficult time, my daughter came into a kitchen filled with  pots and pans waiting to be washed, biscuits in the oven, soup simmering on the stove and a loaf of bread raising on the counter..."Is everything OK, mom? What's upsetting you?" "I'm better now"  I told her...During the process of chopping and blending, kneading and mixing, sautéing and stirring, I found a place of peace.  

Even if you don't particularly enjoy cooking or feel you are not skilled, try a simple turn in the kitchen. If you have no old family favorites, "make a memory" with a new one. You will feed both your body and your spirit!

The cookies pictured in the photo above are a simple oatmeal cookie that I made for a friend who was overseas. He told me that they not only reminded him of his far away home, but the pleasure of sharing them with his African friends, to whom they were a rather exotic treat, increased the simple joy of community.  Here is the recipe. Enjoy!

1 cup butter (2 sticks) softened

1 cup brown sugar firmly packed

½ cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

2  teaspoons vanilla extract  

1½ cups all purpose flour   

1 teaspoon baking soda   

1 tablespoon cinnamon 

½ teaspoon salt   

3 cups of quick cooking oats

1½  cups fresh or frozen cranberries, coarsely chopped (dried can be substituted)

Preheat oven to 350° F. Beat butter and sugars together  until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla extract; beat well. In a separate bowl, mix or sift together  flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add to the wet ingredients and mix well. Slowly stir in oats and cranberries. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto   ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 1 minute on sheet, remove to wire rack. Makes about 4 dozen.