I must’ve been about four when I fell in love with pancakes. I was always ecstatic on Saturday mornings, sitting at the kitchen counter and mixing up my mom’s pancake batter. These days, my mom says that she was never very good at making pancakes but from what I remember, they continue to be the best things I have ever eaten.
I could say a lot of things about what Saturday pancakes taught me about love, but I find it far more important to recognize the real protagonist of the story, the one who taught me more about love than pancakes ever could: my mom.
Aside from a smattering of restaurant chefs here and there, my mom made every meal I ate until I learned to cook. She spent hours in the kitchen when we hosted the holidays and family dinner parties. She chose the menu to suit the occasion. She cooked up the fare that not only fed others, but also that shaped their experience in our home.
I never had to ask why she spent so much time cooking, something so many people consider a chore, or why she cared so much about making food that tasted good… I always knew, through some deep understanding, that she did it out of love. She taught me that to love people, you have to care for them.
Put time and attention into both the things you do and the people you love.
What I’m Doing
To love cooking is to love the people we feed, even if it’s only ourselves. So naturally, when I chose to focus on culinary arts for my time in Studio, I knew that above all else I wanted what I made to be an act of love, to myself, to the people in my life, and to those who experience my final project with me. I want to show love through cooking to everyone . With that in mind, I decided to write a cookbook that focuses on using basic techniques to create beautiful dishes and teaches how to develop a love of cooking.
The book will include about 10 recipes, all of which represent a snapshot of my life, the people whom I love, and who have loved me through cooking and dining together.
Where Has All The Time Gone?
I have spent the past few weeks working on the technicalities of cookbook design. These are things that I never expected would be the biggest part of the whole endeavour. I’ve found that the most difficult part of book design Is just the book design.
I have spent weeks using and learning Adobe InDesign and experimenting with formatting. I am amazed by the length of time it has taken me to decide on a layout. Needless to say, I am dying to begin the part of the process that makes all this hard work worth it …The cooking!
What’s Next?
As this week wraps up, I am growing more and more excited for what’s to come. Next week I begin recipe development. I will need to research, develop, test, and write down all my recipes. The most exciting part for me is all the time I will get to spend in the kitchen for recipe development and practice.
When I applied for Studio, all I hoped to get out of the program was the time, space, and resources to spend time cooking for no reason other than self-improvement. I wanted room to fail so I could take risks and really elevate everything I do in the kitchen. Everything I wanted, everything I had hoped for is all opening up for me now. I’ve found my project, laid the groundwork, and now, with the help and support of those around me…
there’s nowhere to go but up.