Meditation: Nurturing through food

By MamaM

You know all those oishii recipes on this blog? They're mostly done by Mamas Q and D. I have to admit that when it's my turn to post a recipe, I get less than excited. I'm not a good cook. I never have been. Somehow, I always find a way to mess up a recipe--even if I follow the instructions exactly!

I've never taken much time to cook. (I really don't know what I've eaten all these years; certainly not very many homecooked meals.) Until just a few weeks ago, it was only DaddyM and me. It's hard to cook for two, plus I've been busy throughout the years with work, working out, MBA school and volunteer service, among other things.

But now that I'm reducing my hours as a public relations manager to part-time, I've vowed to cook at least three meals a week. That might sound pathetic to some of you, but will be a real challenge for me!

As I was looking through my Barefoot Contessa cookbook (the first time I've ever done that), I came across this quotation by its author in the introduction:

Food is about more than dinner. It's about coming home and being taken care of. It's about Mom. I actually think that the food our mothers made may not be what we are nostalgic for. It's more an emotional picture of a mother who was always there, knew what we needed, loved us, let us run free when we wanted to explore. Food is about nurturing: not only physical but also emotional nurturing.

I love this insight. I want my children to remember me as a mother who fed them physically, emotionally and spiritually. I want to nurture them and spend time talking at the dinner table. I want my kids to know one way I express my love is through feeding them delicious, healthy (and maybe occasionally not-so-healthy!) food. I want them to long for my yakisoba and apple pie the way I long for my mother's!

We all know food is one way t0 bring families together and I'm looking forward to being able to do this with my own family.