Monday, October 22, 2012

Soul Food


Everyone has a soul and everyone eats food, yet everyone feeds their souls with food differently.  This was the topic of a discussion I had recently with Omena (www.omena777.blogspot.com), friend of mine and Soul Historian.  Omena brought some very insightful observations to my dinner table which I share with you.

Relating food to love, the people express their love in one of two ways: conditionally and unconditionally.  It is conditional if you feel that you have to cook in order to keep people together.  Conditional cooks tend to use safe colors that are monochromatic and bland. However, it doesn’t matter what you cook, because all will end up having indigestion. 
Conversely, you can make soup from stones if you are cooking for the right reasons, loving without abandonment with gratitude in a nurturing way.  Unconditional cooks use a variety of everything in bright colors and spices.  However, for those that are searching, nothing ever seems good enough. (Wow- that just hit a little close to home!)

Probably the most obvious was that those who tend to overindulge are avoiding something or searching because they can never seem to get enough, while those that deprive themselves are incapable of receiving (love).

So, let’s say you/re the cook for a hypothetical feast.  Who would you invite? The manipulative mother, the eccentric aunt, the critical brother-in-law, the non-confrontational sister, the fun loving friend?  As much as people’s characteristics are different, so are their taste buds.  What do you serve with such an eclectic  group? 

Recipe for the Soulful Cook
Start with flexibility
And a sense of humor
Open your heart
Add a big dose of love
And en even bigger dose of tolerance
Discard the OCD
Sprinkle with random stardust (spices)
And serve with a smile.

What I’ve learned is that if you put energy into your cooking and do with love, you will walk out of the kitchen looking like you never did anything.  P.S. here’s another point to ponder:  What would the slogan be on your apron?  I thought about it for a minute and determined that mine would say: Kiss the Cook :)