Cooking as a sole region...

I love to cook. Always have and hope to always be able to prepare delicious comforting food until my time comes to cross
over into another dimension...

The past 2 weeks I have been cooking for 5 people instead of the 4 of us because our dear friend Beverly is living in her apartment next to our house until the first part of February. She donates her share to the grocery and wine bills. Every evening
'round 7:30 PM she walks over and as she enters our front door makes a firm proclamation in a beautiful British accent:
"GOD SAVE THE QUEEN!!!" (hell, I wonder which queen she is asking the almighty to save? Lizzy or me the chef???)

In the two weeks she has been dining with us I have managed to never repeat the same meal twice.

I cook in the kitchen and
prepare the table the way I desire while family and Beverly sit in the lounge and enjoy some TV with wine or tea. When I have plated the plates or spread out the food buffet style I say: "GOD SAVE THE QUEEN!!!) and they come into the dinning room. Such a
wonderful ritual before the sun sets and everyone settles in for the night. After dinner conversation usually reaches to unexplainable solutions to the worlds problems or sharing fond memories of years past.

I love French Country Style Cooking as well as Italian. One man that I admire most sincerely is a French actor and director Christophe Malavoy. A few years ago he made a profound statement about cooking and dining with his family.

"We discovered the pleasures of fine dining years ago when dining at a fine restaurant.

Time seemed to come to a standstill. All our senses were awakened.

We were aware of nothing but the pleasures on the table and in our eyes. It was sort of a MASS in the land of FOIE GRAS!

Since then, cooking has become my sole religion. I believe that gathering around the table can have a spiritual dimension...
Time seems to stop and we float between heaven and earth in sheer delight!"

I find that cooking could be a religion. One does have to exercise a certain amount of "FAITH" when cooking and if you have chosen your ingredients with love and touch them lovingly miracles can happen!

We are having a curry and tarragon chicken this evening with garden greens and home made bread and fresh butter. Wish you were here, but, as another of my hero's used to say: I'll be seeing you!



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