Cooking is Becoming a Lost Art

why is this so? we might be losing something very valuable

One would only need to visit my favorite Middle Eastern restaurant
to understand how quality in preparation is truly an art. The salads are
minced to perfection, the spices are turned at exactly the right moment.
You notice too, how beautifully the food is presented, with color, fragrance,
and texture that literally awakens the palates of those who dine.

Why do I mention this? Because we've lost the slow, loving pace in America
that makes cooking an aspect of caring for ourselves and others. I asked
the Middle Eastern cook one day if she blessed the food as she prepared it
and she said, "Yes". With her response came a beautiful smile. And while
I'm not a Muslim, it reminded me that blessings and food are universal
languages and have similar meanings for everyone in the world.

Cooking is a vital part of caring for ourselves. The energy we put into the art
of cooking comes right back to us. I often wonder if our tendency
to want more, especially of "fast food" is because it has little value
in terms of either love or nutrition. We take food for granted and forget that
so many in the world have much less than we do as Americans.

Cooking is one of the most vital and practical skills we can have. It is an
essential survival skill. If I have fifteen dollars to buy food for the coming week,
I will starve in two days if I have to rely on fast food or going out to eat.
If I can cook, I can have healthy food for an entire week on fifteen dollars.
I know because I was a student working solo and paying my bills. I was able
most weeks to buy a pot roast or some ground beef to make spaghetti. By altering
the fresh vegetables at each meal, I managed to have tasty food to eat.

Cooking negates the idea of instant gratification. One has to be tortured
by the luxurious odors sailing from the kitchen for hours while the meal
is prepared. We actually have to defer our satisfaction until appetites
have peaked and we've been privy to that wonderful smell, maybe even
for an afternoon. Ah, but then, isn't the joy of eating so much finer?
Haven't you thrown some ribs on a grill and simmered them very slowly
while the grass is growing? Anything that takes time is usually
worth waiting for.

Being single, I don't condone cooking every day. I cook when the mood
strikes me, usually every two days or so. Generally, I have at least
three main courses in my refrigerator at all times. I love to cook soup
and rely on fresh vegetables and fish for main courses. I always have cooking
ingredients and fresh vegetables on hand, so that when I want to create,
I have the resources I need.

While some might follow recipes in pursuit of culinary art,
I choose to develop my own dishes based on simple guidelines about
food prep. For example, color is a good barometer for composing a dish.
For example, right now I am preparing a soup with black-eye peas,
navy beans and pintos. None of these exhibits a great deal of color
but if I add chopped red and green pepper, yellow squash, and zucchini,
I've developed a palette of flavor and color.

And the cost of my cooking soiree this evening? Let me see, onions, beans,
celery, spices, and the veggies I mentioned before? All total about two or
three dollars in ingredients. And I have enough food for six meals. So, now
that you're a writer, making your way in the world, wouldn't it be wise to
learn how to cook?

Author's Note

Reviews

[Gandré]

You wrote a very important essay on cooking and eating. In our society cooking became rare in most families just on Sundays for they need to work so much and having 2 or 3 low payed jobs they need to hurry up and eat fast food and just between the steps to the other job. I also love fresh food and never buy anything half-prepared and I often don't eat at all but then I eat fresh veggies, mostly tomatoes, red peppers, parsley, salad lollo rosso is my favorite, beens, onions, mushrooms and cucumber, I love zuccini how my mother made it, delicious eating is a fantastic luxury. I also love fresh fruits and dark seedy bread, you have to know, we have in Germany an obsession with bread, and if you believe or not there are over to430 sorts of bread. I love yoghurt and garlic and sea salt and fresh pepper and fish. I don't buy meat for it is poisoned here in Europe. I would eat it when wild meat. Hm, getting out and sitting in a restaurant became so rare, we have expensive prizes for food now like you pay for one aqua minerale 6 EUR plus your dish say salad 11 euro and a grilled plate with fish 21 euro, ice cream 5 euro and espresso 3.50 euro. This is how the world became. Simply: Europe isn't a nice place to live anymore. I loved it how you wrote that color is a good barometer for composing a dish. If I think so, this is really true. I love to have it in all colors... A wonderful read ! More of your recipes pls. love you, my nan.

what about this dish?

"Yes, in the poor man's garden grow
Far more than herbs and flowers--
Kind thoughts, contentment, peace of mind,
And joy for weary hours."

Mary Howitt, 1799-1888
English poet



A CHEESEY CHICKEN

INGREDIENTS
1 chicken about 3lb
127g cold butter
3 bay leaves
2 small onion
2 carrots
black pepper
salt
127g cheddar cheese (mature)
1 garlic clove
5 ml spoon dried thyme
4 x15ml spoon flour

METHOD
Clean out chicken cut off wings.
Put half a peeled onion and one bay leaf in side cavity.
Finger between skin and chicken on each side of breast,
push 30g of butter and one bay leaf in each side season
with salt and pepper. Put rest of butter into cavity.
Place in roasting pan put 100 ml of water in bottom
and cover tightly with tin foil roast in oven 160� C for 1 � hours.
Put wings in saucepan with neck, giblets, and carrots
top up with water and simmer for 1 hour,
strain off the stock and save.
When the chicken is cooked remove from oven
and take out of roasting tray.
Add flour to pan and stir on stove
slowly, add the strained chicken stock
and cook until you have a thick stock;
add milk and grated cheese, stir until melted.
Do not boil!
Cut chicken into portions
and pour sauce over top to serve.


http://www.onlineconversion.com/cooking_volume.htm