Today I'm offering one lucky reader a indispensable kitchen tool. I myself received this go-to guide for Christmas 2 years ago (thanks, Sister!!) and it has quickly become well-loved and well-used.
My pizza dough, my blueberry muffins, my oatmeal raisin cookies, my steak fajitas...
all found here. Among many, many, MANY more fabulous recipes!
Want it?
Want a copy of JOY of Cooking? (The 1997 version, a bit older than what I have, but just as fabulous!)
Leave me a comment letting me know:
What about cooking brings you joy?
Is it the process? The smells? The colors? The end result? Sharing with friends and family? Or if you hate cooking, you can say that, too.
Leave a comment before tomorrow, July 22nd at 7 pm (central time).
I'll announce a randomly selected winner on Thursday!
I don't think I qualify to win the prize since I am a contributer...but since i have yet to contribute maybe I CAN qualify. Or not. Anyways, cooking brings me SO much joy. What brings me the most joy is finding a really healthy meal that my whole family LOVES! I get a lot of joy learning how to cook from scratch, and from cooking from my garden. I LOVE heading out to the garden for fresh herbs and veggies...SO MUCH JOY! Anyways, I will contribute some recipes someday, I promise :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun giveaway! I'm in!
ReplyDeleteI don't really like cooking, but I *do* like figuring out ways to use up what I have. So I suppose making a successful dinner out of whatever happens to be in the house brings me joy.
ReplyDeleteI love cooking - I think it's several things, it's the actual work of putting ingredients together and coming up with something wonderful. Also I love the final product where you get to enjoy it with family/friends. I love that I can control what is in my food. I really love all of it - well, everything except the cleanup! (-:
ReplyDelete~Kathryn
The joy of cooking to me is watching those I love eat it! Its so fun to come up with something delicious and watch my friends and family devour it!
ReplyDeleteI love to cook. I enjoy the entire process really. Digging your hands into dough, calculating what you can substitute for that one ingredient you seemingly always don't have, singing to the radio with your friend as you stir and she cuts peppers, or having your family walk in and comment on the appetizing aroma: the entire process exudes community and camaraderie.
ReplyDeleteBut, truly, my favorite part of the entire endeavor is feeding my friends. When all your friends are stuffed into your living room of your too-small apartment and you bring out that steaming pot of whatever--that moment--brings me so much joy. Maybe it is my maternal side, maybe it is my Jewish roots; whatever it is, I gain so much joy from that feeling that I am quickly getting addicted to feeding anyone and everyone. Are you hungry?!
Eating is one of the things every human must do. It is a joyous occurrence to share that universal experience.
Cooking is what calms me and makes me feel whole. If my day is stressful, a pan of muffins or a pot of chicken and rice will be the cure. I also love watching a pile of ingredients turn into a meal. That pile of food can go from raw to cooked to family-around-the-table in less than an hour and that is magic to me.
ReplyDeleteOne of the things that brings me the most joy while cooking is the "thinking" aspect of it. Those hours in the kitchen- though filled with bubbling pans, exploding vegetables, and burning batter- have a unique type of peace to them. I can rediscover lost math skills when I double a recipe or indulge my creative side when I toss in a new spice to a dish: it's just me, the kitchen, and the food.
ReplyDeleteI think about the ingredients individually and the recipe as a whole and I wonder about how people eat it in its country of origin. Normally, the radio is playing beside me and I am simply thinking about the day, the week, and the meal in front of me.
I am color-blind. Not totally, but there are no vibrant reds in my life. I am also not musically inclined. I play no instruments, and my singing is definitively average. My contributions to society generally take the forms of math and logic (or at least it often seems this way to me).
ReplyDeleteBut not so when I cook. The subtle matching of sage and balsamic vinegar, pre-heating red pepper flakes in olive oil to bring out just the right amount of heat and flavor -- It all flows together in an expression of aesthetic beauty. I love the mix of colors in a good stir fry, the steam filling the kitchen with the aroma of sesame seed oil. Cooking builds up all my senses. It is my one real act of artistry.
Sometimes it goes well, sometimes not, but I always enjoy it (even when I'm tired) and it always enables me to contribute in a way I don't otherwise experience.
I am not a great cook, and the process itself doesn't bring me joy.
ReplyDeleteWhat does bring me joy is watching my family eat a homemade meal that nourishes their bodies and their souls. Eating good food together makes me happy.