cook pot stories

This week was the conclusion of a 6-week cooking class I took at the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts.   I wanted to approach this with a beginner's mind so I discovered a great deal, not only about cooking but about learning and myself. What did I learn, in my adventure into cooking and beginner's mind? A few things, all of which can be taken literally or metaphorically. Sharp knives matter. Cutting with a dull knife takes longer, requires more effort and you're much more likely to hurt yourself. Make sure your knife is honed as well as sharpened even if you have to expend a little bit of energy to make it so. Use the knife that fits your hand. No matter how big, flashy or expensive, if you can't use it comfortably you won't use it well. When in doubt, add a little more butter. Okay, this may not apply to everything, but almost everything. A little bit of richness in the mouth or in our lives isn't necessarily a bad thing. Even if you have cholest...

I'm about to break one of the cardinal rules of blogging and talk about why I haven't been posting much lately. Stick with me, there's a point to this. I have several unpublished posts ready to go. Meals in Tuscany, bread given as a gift, Passover foods, food related poems and link lists; all kinds of things. Each time I settle in to polish one to post, I get stuck, not because I don't care about the topic but because I have a friend who has an eating disorder. She reads what I write because she loves me and wants to support me. I'm concerned that something I write about food will be upsetting to her. Friend, if you're reading, please remember that I love you and this post is about my feelings, not about anything you've done. My concern about upsetting you may not be realistic. Loving someone with an eating disorder is like loving anyone else. You ache for them when they are in pain. You long to help them. You celebrate their successes. Loving this fr...