Food can be about a lot of things—nourishment, comfort, anger, pleasure, nostalgia, control, self-expression, obligation. It's also can be about belonging: to culture, to place and the seasons, to the earth and seas and skies, to weather and other forces of nature, to family and to that hungry person sitting at your kitchen table...
Weekend Meditation: Belonging
For me it's also about belonging to the moment. With all those sharp knives, boiling liquids, measures and ingredients to keep track of, cooking requires a fair amount of attention. The same recipe can be cooked over and over, and each time it's a little different. It's this carrot, this time a little sweeter; it's this cup of flour, this time a little drier. A certain presence and absorption is asked for, an engagement of all the senses that is inherently pleasurable and satisfying.
There are many moments in the kitchen where my mind wanders, it's true. Sorting beans, stripping bunches chard from its tough stalk, even chopping onions (with knives hopefully well sharpened) all have a repetitive, lulling effect and I sometimes find myself far away. But the pasta water boiling over, or the smell of charring garlic are reminders that attention is a primary ingredient.
I am fortunate to live in the Bay Area and to belong to a watershed that offers so much year round abundance that being a locavore is hardly a challenge. In fact, it is often an embarrassment of riches and I find myself wanting to tone it down some when talking with my snowbound, produce-challenged friends to the east. At least in the winter. But belonging means more than getting all the good stuff. It means having a responsibility to sustainability, to stewardship, to awareness and appreciation.
Belonging is a deep human need and often food is one of it's most fundamental expressions. It's spring (well, at least in the northern hemisphere) and it's Easter/Passover time as well. Besides filling the belly, why do you cook and what's being expressed? What do you belong to?
(All images: Dana Velden)
Comments (9)
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I started to write, and it turned into this long article.. So I erased it and decided I would just say
Cooking for me is about Nourishing my friends, and relationships and myself. I may not be able to afford much, but I can always afford to make you some kind of delicious meal, and I can make you feel important while we are together eating it.
view Daigan's profile
I belong to...
your philosophy.
view art's profile
I belong to the earth. Adapting myself to this bioregion (from Southern California to the Bay area) just like other animals and plants and seeds, growing myself out:
âSeeds are magical: given proper stewardship, they will acclimate to specific areas over time. By growing them out, we weave the stories of our lives and seeds into an unending chain of community, tradition, and historyâ. From the Ecology Centerâs website: http://www.ecologycenter.org/basil/
The birds are singing spring, Lee
view truedharma's profile
Off topic, but...
Great artwork! Love the calendar and the bay... who is the artist/where can I get some?!
view loulouie's profile
Ditto on the artwork!
view marilyn26's profile
The poster is Claire Nereim and it's available on Etsy. I got it at Little Otsu on Valencia Street in the Mission. It's a hand-screened print for $25 and it's called Seasonal Fruit of California, 2. The Bay scene is a photo I took of a mural in Clarion Alley (also the Mission.) Yelp has some great photos of other murals. Thank you Lee, Art and Diagan!
Dana
http://www.clairenereim.com/main.htm
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=8271966
view Dana V's profile
Cooking for me is about self nourishment, as well as nourishing others. It's also a vehicle for nostalgia and happy memories, and an outlet for creativity. Those are all things I belong to, too.
view OneWallKitchen's profile
Yet another great post, Dana.
For me cooking a practice, pretty much exactly as yoga is a practice for me; it's something you do daily, and you try to be as engaged with it as possible. I think that even a small degree of caring and attention to food yields great results (and its corollary--slapping food together while being totally distracted and not feeling up to the task--yields pretty bad results).
It's hard to imagine a better way to spend time.
view breakawaycook's profile
Hi Dana!
Love your kitchen - I remember those lights from Unravelling!
So true that there is that deep connection to the food - I need to stop and appreciate more.
- Kif
(kifness.blogspot.com)
view Kifness's profile