Bread & Wine: A Love Letter to Life Around the Table with Recipes, By: Shauna Niequist. "Cooking as in life there are some non-negotiables but not as many as you would think. Learning to cook is about learning all those non-negotiables and then playing around with the rest. Recipes are how we learn all the rules, and Cooking is knowing how to break them to suit our tastes or preferences." I have enjoyed this audible more than you will know. Shauna said all the words and thoughts that flow through my brain continuously as I'm cooking and baking. She was able to share in just the right words what I tend to stumble on when speaking about the importance of cooking, baking, and all that it brings to the table. There is truly something special that happens from the moment you plan a meal to the first bite of the dish. When I am in my kitchen making and creating dishes to share, it gives me an unbelievable amount of joy. It became my go to happy place. I could bake and cook from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to sleep. Honestly that is what I do some days, and I love every second of it. I don't just cook and bake because it needs to be done. I don't see it as a "chore" like some people do. I see it as an honor and privilege. The amazing gift to be able to prepare a meal for somebody else to enjoy. The feeling you get when you see the expression on their face as they take their first bite. The joy of seeing how your food is satisfying their tastebuds. When I cook, it's not just for those who will consume it, it is for me too. It allows me to be at complete and utter peace until the meal is completed. Which is great because I now get to add the most important ingredient of all which is LOVE. I know you may see that as a cliche but I don't. Which is why when I could have a terrible day, I walk into my kitchen and leave whatever just happened at the door. Almost instantly I can feel at peace. Why? Well, the kitchen is the place where God & I meet. Cooking and baking time becomes our place to communicate. Which is why when I am in my kitchen late you can find me in tears letting it all out to Him. Or you can find me for some reason smiling even though my day could've been everything less than perfect. There is just something that happens to me when I am in the kitchen. "The table is the great equalizer, level playing field many of us have been looking everywhere for. The table is the place where the doing stops, the trying stops, the masks are removed and we allow ourselves to be nourished like children. We allow someone else to meet our need in a world that prides people on not having needs... The table is a place of safety and rest and humanity. Where we are allowed to be as fragile as we feel. If the home is a body, the table is the heart, the beating center, the sustainer of life and health. Come To The Table!" I love this quote above because of how much truth these words speak. It is real and 100% relatable in every way. It makes you think of times where you came back home to the table to eat with your family as a whole again because that is when you felt safe. When you take off the masks of having it all together and allow yourself to be comforted by the food and your loved ones. Where the table gets your heart beating and pumping for joy again, right when you need it. I have for years made meals to give to families in times of need. Whether they just had a loss in the family, post-surgery, need a pick me up, just had a baby, moved to a new house, etc. I do this not because I am expected to do anything but solely for the fact that I know how I have felt in many of those areas. Just like the quote said is what I am hoping to bring to them in one simple meal. I remember when we had lost my grandpa and aunt within a year of one another. We had lost it and with it we had forgotten to eat. Eating and nourishing our bodies had been the last thing on our minds. Friends and family would bring us food or homemade meals enough for our entire family to eat. We hadn't asked for it but they knew in those moments that we needed it whether we wanted to admit it or not. The table is like Shauna said, it's truly the heart, the beating center and sustainer of life and health. I believe it to be true because our family had practically every meal together from the moment we heard the news to the funeral. There was something powerful about all of us joining each other at the table. We didn't need to say a word, but it was just all of us being comforted together in food and unity as a family. The healing began at the table. It was where our hearts began to beat and keep going even when we didn't know how. Where our broken hearts started to mend. The healing came when we were sitting at the safe zone. That no matter what else may come our way, we were together. I hope the table is where your healing is able to take place too. I just know how valuable it has been for me and my family. "The heart of hospitality is about creating space for someone to feel seen and heard and loved. It's about declaring your table a safe zone, a place of warmth and nourishment." What this quote says above is why I think our house tends to be the hangout spot amongst our friends and at times family. It doesn't matter to them how small our house may be. They don't see that and honestly they could care less how small or big our house is. What they love about our house is that we have created a safe place, where everyone is welcomed. My siblings and I would have friends over practically every weekend or every other. We would have party night and it was always at our house. We would all help to cook or bake together, and those who didn't still joined us in the kitchen. They would help in anyway they could or just keep us company. Our parties would consist of eating, playing games, watching movies, go bowling, or who knows what else. It didn't matter to us what we did. What mattered to us was who we did it with. One thing all of our friends have said to us one way or another was that they love our house. They knew they could relax and be real with us. We are able to cry on one another's shoulders and we are able to celebrate with each other. There is laughter, happiness, and authenticity here. There is a love that resonates in our house as a family, and we are glad that those who enter can feel it. Where we gather is in our living room around our coffee table aka our dining table. As a family we gather around it to enjoy our meals. Our friends do the same, and we love it. Everyone who gathers there is loved and valued. We are each others greatest encouragers and biggest fans. Life should happen around the table! Allow authenticity in! Add most importantly add the most sacred ingredient to every recipe of life... LOVE! I hope you will either pick up the book or buy the audible. It's definitely worth a listen, read or both. Also, the author reads the audible which just adds so much more to the story. I hope this makes you see the importance of eating together as friends and family. And how vital that these small moments are that seem to pass by us. My challenge to you all is that this week you find and make the time at least twice to have dinner as a family, or even with your friends. Yes I know that we all work, have dance, have sports, events to attend, and performances to help prepare for. I get that & I understand that but it is so important. Find time! Make time! Looking forward to see or hear about what happened when you gathered around the table. Hope you enjoyed this blog post!
#LifeAroundTheTable Chef Katarina
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Chef KatarinaI am a chef in the making. I will be going to school soon for culinary arts. I will be posting my creations & my love for all things food here. Archives
March 2019
Categories
|