HOW'S THAT RELATIONSHIP GOING -
YOU KNOW THE ONE YOU HAVE
WITH FOOD?
We all have relationships with loved ones, friends, co-workers, strangers and pets. And there is a relationship we have with food whether we realize it or not. It can be good, bad, ok or benign. What is your relationship with food - have you thought about moods that certain foods evoke in you, like fresh baked bread or chocolate chips cookies hot out of the oven or that unmistakable smell of pulled pork barbecue as the smoke swirls around thick in the air luring you in. For others it's the heavy intoxicating fumes of a bourbon or cognac. Food can transport you to a happy place - if you think about it now, you most likely can think of a food or beverage that conjures up warm and fuzzy thoughts or emotions.
Food has many meanings and benefits for me. When I was 8, my mom gave me a birthday present that sparked the beginning of my relationship with food and cooking. It was a Betty Crocker Cook book for Boys and Girls. That book has traveled around the world with me and it is showing wear and one of my prized possessions. It is symbolic of my longstanding relationship with food and how it has grown into a deep joy of discovery and culinary creativity. The act of cooking on a gas stove and using a gas oven to cook is something that any culinary oriented person appreciates. The act of using fire to cook our food links us directly to our past of days around a primitive fire and discovery that cooked meat enhanced the smell, flavor and texture of what was previously raw and possibly full of pathogens. Suddenly cooking took food and eating to another level. In short, using fire simply makes food taste better.
We have lost the art of cooking somewhere along the way. We look at pretty photos of recipes and watch cooking and chef shows. And yet, less of us are cooking at home and even less of us are spending time around the dining room table together. The incredible array of ready to eat foods when we enter the grocery store now and the options of already made salads, fruit assortments, sushi, side dishes and cooked meat, fish and you name it, well it's just too easy, too tasty and its there in front of us.
In spite of all the seduction that the ready to eat foods, beverages and sauces have, I find myself thinking about making fresh lump meat crab cakes and gluten free hush puppies with fresh cucumber and heirloom tomatoes on the side. Even the tartar sauce will be healthy because it will be a non-mayo version made with coconut milk, Greek yogurt, lime juice, a dab of relish and some cayenne pepper for a spicy touch.I think about taking recipes and making healthier versions that will taste even better than the original recipe because of the love and creativity with a dose of 'it's healthy and nutritious too' thrown in.
So you probably know by now I something about my relationship with food and it is a longstanding one that gets better and better. I have taken training at a culinary school and also am certified in Culinary Coaching through Harvard Medicine Lifestyle Institute. Harvard did a research project that was the catalyst in starting the Culinary Coaching. What their research revealed about our health crisis with our health (overweight, diabetes, cardiovascular disease to name a few) was that fact that we are cooking less at home and eating out or buying ready to eat foods more. Thus, Harvard decided that people needed Culinary Coaches to help figure out how to cook and cook more healthy meals at home.
What's cooking at your home tonight? Maybe you will pass on the seduction of all the ready to eat foods or restaurants and do something different in your own kitchen. Maybe a loved one or family member will join you in the kitchen and put together something fun, healthy (mostly) and tasty. While you put together a fresh made meal tonight, you may find the experience enjoyable as you connect with food and the process of preparing it possibly someone joining you in the endeavor. If you find yourself laughing and being absorbed in cutting, chopping, stirring and arranging things on or in the oven - watch out, you may be in a relationship with - food!
