The Zen of Cooking /The Joy of Euthusiasm
It's funny. As a child I've always enjoyed helping my mother cook and bake, yet when I became older that love was hidden by the demands of daily life. It became easier to warm up TV dinner, microwave a MRE (meal ready to eat), or make a PB& J sandwich. However, this past holiday I have rediscovered my love for cooking and baking.
It's weird. The love has been here the entire time. But in the necessity of the hour (helping my family prepare for Thanksgiving) the love resurfaced and slowly enveloped me. Now I won't let it go. The power of creating a meal, experimenting with ingredients, and filling it with love is too intoxicating to let go. I zone out...but in a good way :-).
There's a nice article called The Zen of Cooking that explains it better than me.
Don't get it twisted, though. I'm no gourmet chef. I dabble. I equate myself with a causal jogger while the real chefs run the marathons. TriniGourmet.com is an excellent site for both dabbler and chef alike. It helped me get back to that hidden love. I just enjoy the process and the feeling of accomplishment. The enthusiasm I feel for cooking is addicting, so I hope I can keep the fire of enthusiasm burning.
I realize that I chase after "enthusiasm" in my life. It gives me a reason to get up in the morning. According to Wikipedia, Enthusiasm comes from the Ancient Greek originally meant inspiration or possession by a divine afflatus or by the presence of God.
After reading that definition, it explained why I chase after the Goddess of Enthusiasm. It brings me closer to the divine.
I shared my new "project". What gives you that natural "high"? What brings enthusiasm to your life?
Comments
Surprising that it's not a book unto itself; the author did mention one I recognized-- Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.
Cooking is indeed one of the things I enjoy. I really like recipes where instructions are simple and easy to memorize, so I can easily modify it as I need to and can make it quickly. I also like ones where the ingredients are easy for me to get. My mother has accused me of being a foodie, but really, I rather enjoy recipes where the foodstuffs are pretty basic-- what you might call "peasant cooking" and might find either in a Frugal Gourmet cookbook or from someone's grandmother.