The book and movie talk about how emotions come through in cooking. I understand it because it's a Spanish tradition to talk about your cooking as though you're talking about emotions. For example, salsa. If it's very hot and spicy we say that the cook must have been very pissed off when making the salsa. In fact, I told that to my best friend from med school who then started encouraging me to get into an argument with my mom so that the next jar of salsa she'd send in a care package to us would be extra zingy.
I find that when I am stressed, nothing "soothes my soul" as my DH stated like cooking. Emotions and frenetic energy just fall away as I go through the motions of creating the meal. You can't be frantic when slicing bell pepper to the width of match sticks to join the julienned potatoes and yellow squash which will be mixed with fresh, locally-picked chanterelle mushrooms in tin foil, coated in butter and spices and tossed to steam in the oven. Medical physiology disappears when you are whisking your merlot-soaked, rice flour roux into the boiling beef broth for your mushroom gravy sauce. And, nothing beats mixing a slab of butter with maple agave syrup and raisins to pour on top of and in baked apples.
Yum. It's all made with love and energy and a sense of peace which I am sure came through in the meal... or else from the glass of Coppola merlot, either way.
Of course, eating is pretty comforting too... good thing DH is making me walk along the beach several times a week...!
1 comment:
that was interesting about the salsa, Veronica. I tell you, I'm coming to your house for dinner one night! everything you described making sounds delicious!!
betty
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