The time of business does not with me differ from the time of prayer, and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are calling for different things, I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were upon my knees at the blessed sacrament.
- Brother Lawrence, a seventeenth century monk
The kitchen is a place that sharpens us. It's a place that wakes us up. Our sense of smell becomes keener. We taste with greater subtlety. We see with more clarity and our movements become quick and sure.
But there are times when we are not as sensitive, not as focused. We are distracted and nothing seems to go right. In the kitchen the results are easy to notice. The sauce burns, the bread does not rise, and dishes slip out of our hands.
Cooking requires that we be fully present. This is one of its greatest teachings.
It keeps bringing us back to what is happening in the moment and continually calls our attention to what we are doing.
We smell when the cake is ready to come our of the oven and we taste when the soup is almost done to perfection. When the water boils on the stove, we turn down the heat.
Through cooking we can become more responsive to what is happening around us. In the very same way that the Chinese cook was able to sharpen his knives just by using them, we can sharpen our lives by living them with awareness, moment by moment.
- Bettina Vitell, A Taste of Heaven & Earth
I think I have quoted these passages before, but I couldn't help typing them out again, as cooking has become such an important everyday sacrament for me the past couple of years: as a way of relaxing between the stresses of work days, re-orienting oneself to the present moment and Nature (see Robert Farrar Capon's chapter on cutting an onion in his book The Supper of the Lamb), and of being with and giving myself to others.
As a matter of fact, three films I really enjoyed this past year were about cooking: the fun romp of Ratatouille, reminding us that anyone can cook; Ang Lee's classic Eat, Drink, Man, Woman, with it's mouth watering opening sequence, which had me coveting a good cleaver; and a Vancouver Film Festival Zen favorite How To Cook Your Life.
All of which, along with musings of housemates and friends, have made me wonder about everything surrounding the preparation of our food... such as... How are we to be good stewards of the land? How are we to buy conscientiously? How do we eat healthily? And in the midst of it all, how does one not turn into a food snob? Forays into, and conversations about The 100 Mile Diet, packaging, and the use of chemicals to grow our food, have all been simmering in my mind and heart... and I find myself grateful for friends who grow gardens in the middle of cities to feed their neighbours, who plant herbs in windowsills, and who entice wheatgrass and barley to thrive in shafts of light in basement suites.
But above all, I look back at the past year and am grateful for all those moments gathered with family and friends around a breakfast, lunch or dinner table (or perhaps even on a piece of rock, patch of grass or piece of beach) so I hope to record here some of those moments here... I was introduced to a Jamie Oliver cookbook a couple of years ago, and since then have been given, and have accumalated three more of his cookbooks - all of which I recommend: Cook With Jamie, Jamie's Italy, Jamie's Dinners, and Happy Day's With The Nake Chef. I have slowly been expanding my recipe base beyond Jamie Oliver, but I could not help starting the year off with one of his recipes.
So tonight, I opened my first wine bottle of the year, a nice Australian Shiraz that a few kindred spirits gave to me this past holiday, and decided to cook a Bolognaise recipe for my parents and uncle. On Christmas Day, an acquaintance of my sister's mentioned cooking Bolognaise sauces a lot, having come over from France and since then recognizing how much she has been influenced by Italian cuisine... and as I cooked tonight, my hope was that this would not only be a tasty and healthy meal, but more importantly, one of many more meals shared with loved ones.
Kinda Spaghetti Bolognaise
Jamie Oliver, Happy Days With The Naked Chef
10 slices of pancetta or bacon ∙ 1 handful of rosemary leaves picked and roughly chopped ∙ olive oil ∙ 1 large onion, finely chopped ∙ 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped ∙ 1lb best chuck steak, minced or ground beef ∙ 1 wineglass of red wine ∙ 1 level teaspoon dried oregano ∙ 1 14ox can of tomatoes ∙ 1 7 oz tube tomatoe puree or 1 small jar of sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped ∙ sea salt and freshly ground black pepper ∙ 1 lb dried spaghetti ∙ 1 handful of fresh basil ∙ 2 handfuls of grated parmesan or sharp Cheddar chesse
Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a large hot pan that can go in the oven, fry the pancetta and rosemary in a little olive oil until lightly golden. Then add the onion and garlic and fry for a further 3 minutes, until softened, before adding the ground beef. Stir and continue fryuing for 2 or 3 minutes before adding the wine. Reduce slightly, then add the oregano, all the tomatoes, and the tomato puree. Season well to taste, bring to a boil, cover with wax paper or a lid, and place in the preheated oven for an hour and a half. Toward the end of the cookin time, put your spaghetti into a large pot of fast-boiling salted water until al dente (check the package for cooking time). When it's cooked, drain it in a colander.
Just before serving, add some ripped-up fresh basil to the sauce. Serve with your spaghetti and some grated Parmesan or shar Cheddar. A green salad is also nice with this. (125)
