Can I cook now?

As the associate director of the White Violet Center, it may not surprise you to find out that I am interested in food issues. WVC is dedicated to food in many ways—its sustainable production, its importance to family and community, its place in our spirituality. So really, I had better be interested in food issues, hadn’t I?

What might surprise you is how very much I am interested in food issues. I suspect that a great deal of my personal, professional, and volunteering life choices stem directly from trying to find more excuses to cook, share and eat good food. So, for my first post on the WVC blog, I thought I would say a quick (ahem) word about teaching cooking classes.

I’ve taught people to make everything from mozzarella to eclairs to lentil soup. Teaching people how to cook food, and seeing their amazement at how easy it really is to do wonderful things with raw ingredients, is so fulfilling. I love that when I show people how to cook, what I am doing is showing them a new way to care for people. When I cook for my family, the food that I prepare is a real, physical manifestation of my love for them. This is work that comes from my heart and my hands, and goes directly into their bodies. It’s work that sustains them, and warms them, and gives them fond memories of times sitting around the dinner table talking to each other. Having the opportunity to help others discover this joy is a blessing.

So you say you can’t cook, or you don’t know how? Let us teach you! Even if you think you don’t like to cook, it can be a lot more fun once you learn a few basic dishes that you can make from scratch. It doesn’t have to be a big deal, and it doesn’t have to be Beef Wellington—spaghetti and meatballs will be just fine. But cook something, and serve it to people you care about.

No recipe you find in glossy food magazines ever comes out the way the professional pictures look. The dish will taste wonderful and make everyone happy, not because it was coiffed by professional food stylists, but because you love your family and friends, and they can taste the love in your food (I swear it’s my favorite ingredient). Sure, maybe my favorite thing to do is something that involves the word “flambé”, but my kids love me most when I make them pancakes or mac n’ cheese. My youngest son’s favorite meal, hands down, is biscuits & gravy. Haute cuisine this ain’t. It’s just good, simple food, made with love. And in my house, at least occasionally, it’s also food made with an 8-year-old giving me constant (somewhat distracting) hugs because he found out he’s getting pancakes for dinner. Would I trade that in for the “convenience” of a restaurant? Not on a bet.