cook pot stories

Da Capo Take the used-up heart like a pebble 
and throw it far out. Soon there is nothing left.
 Soon the last ripple exhausts itself 
in the weeds. Returning home, slice carrots, onions, celery.
 Glaze them in oil before adding 
the lentils, water, and herbs. Then the roasted chestnuts, a little pepper, the salt. 
Finish with goat cheese and parsley. Eat. You may do this, I tell you, it is permitted.
 Begin again the story of your life. — Jane Hirshfield

No one who cooks, cooks alone. Even at her most solitary, a cook in the kitchen is surrounded by generations of cooks past, the advice and menus of present, the wisdom of cookbook writers. - Laurie Colwin

I am not a glutton. I am an explorer of food. - Erma Bombeck

Coolness of the melons 
flecked with mud 
in the morning dew.


 Matsuo Basho Translated by Robert Hass