Cooking with Joy

Here it is.....the beginning of the long cold dark winter. I am at loose ends, can't figure out what to do with myself. Not ready yet to go back to work. After the busy-ness of the last few months you'd think it would feel good to just relax, but quite honestly, it feels mushy, stewing-in-my-own-juices lazy and too weird.

I need a project!

Oh but, ah......I have a project. One that got off to a great start last year, but then stalled out as other things filled the time and hurriedness took over.

The Joy of Cooking project. I love it! Asking each person I know of their favorite recipe, I will shop, prepare and cook that dish, thinking of them and enjoying the process of cooking with mindfulness.

First recipe this year: Poor Man's Lobster Theridore given to me by Sharon. I DID have to write a threatening ransom-style letter to get this recipe, but it was so worth it.

The dish was easy to make and delicious. I didn't feel poor at all! Richer even!

These are the recipes that I've made so far and I have to say, every one of them is wonderful. I've made them again and a couple have become mainstays. The cool thing is that some of them I'd never try without this project. When given a recipe, I MUST make it, no matter how hard or how exotic the ingredients. And you know what?! Some of those flavor combinations are some I've never experienced. Some of the ingredients I've never heard of either.

Yippee! Back to the project at last.