One of Those Weeks

All day today, I’ve been thinking about the blog and wondering what to write about. Knitting has been pretty much non-existent so there’s nothing to write about there. Work has been a bit on the stressful side, but nothing I really want to write about.

I could write about the weather, I suppose. It’s sunny but not terribly warm. Autumn definitely has us in its grip. John and our landlord have both been working in the garden, harvesting and cleaning up.

That brings me to the purpose of today’s post. I’ve just realized that there are two things that help me get past the stress of the work week (not that it’s all that stressful, but it’s work!). One, as you know, is knitting. Knitting, though, has not come easy in the last while. The other, which will likely come as no surprise to anyone who reads this blog, is cooking. I’ve just never really realized just how relaxing I find cooking… until today.

An empty bowl. I can tell you that it was wonderful! It was sublime! It was simple. And it made me realize that cooking, for me, is nothing short of meditative and grounding.

So, what was in the bowl? Well, allow me to back up a little. Last weekend, I made pasta. It’s gone. Today, I decided to make another batch.

When I make pasta, there are always little bits that really don’t qualify as “noodles”. They get piled in a little pile and never really come to more than about a half cup of pasta bits. That’s the cook’s portion. After making the pasta, setting it to dry, I put on a small pot of water and cook the little leftover bits. This time, I also chopped up one clove of garlic, melted a bit of butter and then tossed the cooked pasta in with a bit of parmesan cheese. At the first bite, I realized that all the stress of the previous week had just dissipated. It was a taste of… well… a taste of YUM!!!

I realize I’m going on and on about pasta but it came as something of a surprise to realize just how satisfying and fulfilling and stress-relieving just doing something this simple has been. I suppose it’s partially because it’s another creative endeavour. Maybe it’s the satisfaction of making something that others find delicious. Maybe it’s getting into the dough, feeling your food. I don’t really know. What I do know is that it satisfies at a very deep level.

Have I mentioned that I love cooking?