I also find being in the kitchen rather relaxing. If I am feeling stressed or have had a bad day, I find it comforting to bake something yummy - my specialty is a lemon syrup loaf which all the family love. It fills the house with the delicious smell of home-baking which immediately puts me in a better mood. I love this quote from the movie Julie and Julia, as I feel I can relate to what she is saying about how being in the kitchen makes her feel. "Chocolate cream pie! You know what I love about cooking? I love that after a day when nothing is sure and when I say nothing, I mean nothing. You can come home and absolutely know that if you add egg yolks to chocolate and sugar and milk, it will get thick. That's such a comfort." (Julie Powell, 2009).
If I am feeling particularly creative, baking or cooking gives me an opportunity to play around a little. Decorating cookies or cupcakes is always fun. I love making different coloured sugar to top belgium biscuits with, a bit of a change from the original pink colour. Chopping and changing recipes is a habit of mine, if I don't like something that is included in the recipe, I will try to substitute it with something I would prefer, or if we don't have the required ingredients, I'll hunt down something to fill it's place. Sometimes these changed recipes work out a treat, other times, not so much.
So besides cooking to eat and therefore survive, I enjoy being in the kitchen to provide for others, to de-stress, to feel a sense of belonging and achievement, and to release my creativity. Wow, who would have thought I would get this much out of cooking a simple meal!
Ephron, N. (2009). Julie and Julia. USA: Columbia Pictures.
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