After going to a Greek restaurant yesterday and learning that my favorite dish was only available at dinner, it got me thinking and that is usually not a good thing. Waking early this morning, I decided that I would spend my day on a labor of love, creating this dish from scratch. So armed with a list, I headed to the store and have spent the majority of the day prepping and preparing Moussaka.
Throughout the day I had several thoughts that kept running through my mind. The first was, how really theraputic it was to take such care and to put such time into the preparation of a dish. In today's hectic world, it is a rare occasion that we have the time to set aside to really make a time consuming meal. While many see cooking as something that has to be done, stealing effortless ideas from the likes of Rachel Ray and a host of other talentless hacks, I suppose that is your right. However, cooking is an art, it is a joy there is a moment of zen that you reach and a peace that you find and it is something to be shared and taught. Cooking is more than a labour of love, it is good for the soul. That is just my two cents and I will shut up about it already.
The second thought I had was that well, I have might have mislead some of you by claiming to be domestically disabled and here I am talking about spending all day cooking a fairly difficult ethnic dish. Well, yes and no. I am lazy (shocker). I hate to clean unless I am mad and then you have never seen a toilet shine so bright. I would rather eat bugs than do laundry and I cannot iron to save my life. I own and iron, but not an ironing board and said iron actually sits on a shelf that I cannot reach, on purpose.
You may have heard me talk at length about not cooking. true, I do not often cook. Mostly because my dear husband, puts the "P" in picky eater and is not a fan of vegetables. Truth be told, he rarely will eat anything that I cook, not because it is rubbish, but because he has the palate of a 5 year old who really, really likes hot food. Actually, if you ask him, he will probably tell you his favorite vegetable is a jalapeno. I cringe every time he tells someone that his favorte thing I cook is a grilled cheese sandwich. I am actually a realy good cook, I well versed in a number of ethnic dishes and can throw together some of the most amazing hors d'oeuvres you have ever seen. Want to have a party? Let's do it. It is simply something I do not take the time to do often enough.
So I have decided to institute Sunday cooking, just for me. My own little bit of zen. I am going to dust off my cookbooks and my caphalon and get back in touch with those days when we took the time to prepare a meal even if it means making the time to do so.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
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5 comments:
Love it!! You rock, and so true!!!
Well done! It's absolutely true, cooking is an art form. Unfortunately, for most of us it becomes a chore and that obscures the artistic merit.
One question -- did Agent BBQ actually eat it when you were done?
No. He ate hot dogs like a 5 year old.
uh, scuse me, how did i not know you had a blog? dang! and what is that whirling dirvish???
Don't think of Mediterranean food as "difficult". Think of it as "time consuming". Most recipes are very easy, but, as with something like grapeleaves, they can take hours to make. I have a very easy eggplant mousakka and a potato mousakka recipe that I'll put on the site later today.
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