How do you like to unwind?
I love to cook. It's what clears my mind. A big part of my cooking involves chopping. It's pretty hard to multitask when you're chopping vegetables, and I do a lot of thinking as I’m chopping and cooking. I love to improvise and create as I go with what’s in the veggie bin, refrigerator, and freezer. It's like playing the cooking show "Chopped."
Chopping veggies is routine but not boring; it is meditative. It makes you present in the here and now with its rhythmic motion of cubing, mincing, slicing, dicing that demands attention and focus. Attention to the uniformity of size, focus on the knife and cutting board so you don't slice your finger.
There's great value to chopping up vegetables for soup or a salad or a tray of roasted veggies because you're taking some time away from turning the pages, answering your emails, talking to people on the phone, and you're letting your brain process whatever is stuck up in there. You forget your worries as this calming activity forces you to let go of things that are burdening or bothering you. I feel very satisfied with what I’m doing and I’m happy because I’m creating something that will nourish others.
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| A tray of roasted veggies for a pot of butternut squash soup |
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| Future spinach salad |
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| Potato leek soup coming up! |
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| Pickled turnips, onion, garlic, and Thai chili peppers |
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