The Lovely Occasion
Sometime in the early waking morning hours, before dawn, there inside my monkey mind, I like to plan the next lovely occasion. On the other side of the pandemic shutdown, it is now even more fun to carry out this treasured activity. Cooking at home, enjoying food, with family and friends!
Most recently, the occasion was my husband’s birthday, but our get-together now was a chance to make up for the lost time of the last two years. We had lost Christmas dinner and other happy times to celebrate due to Covid: Easter was around the corner, as well as the official start of Spring. I pulled off this lovely occasion, making it into the prettiest at-home affair. Starting with my old aqua tablecloth, I decorated the table with white napkins in little straw basket napkin rings and loaded the table with daffodils and hellebores found at the Farmers Market. And yes, I cooked at home. We had cowboy chutney with black-eyed peas, red onions, and cilantro to start, then followed by a rack of lamb cooked with a mustard herb sauce, and red potatoes with rosemary. We had a lovely green crunchy salad with buttermilk dressing. I confess I did not make a luscious chocolate cake but the point is we had a very lovely occasion and everyone left with smiles and warm feelings.
Another example of a lovely occasion can include bringing home cooking to work. As a medical doctor, we lived intermittent stress most days. And, nothing was more enjoyed, or enjoyable, than my seasonal bread. I made strawberry bread and lemon blueberry bread in the spring, banana and zucchini bread in the summer, and pumpkin and apple bread in the fall. Every time I shared my cooking my heartfelt such the reward of giving my hardworking, stressed-out medical team something to brighten the day. And this carried on over to Thanksgiving when everyone at work started to beg for my famous pecan pie. I was well known for that contribution. And it was mmm…so good.
I would like to encourage everyone when they begin to see the health benefits of cooking at home that they just do it more. Practice always makes perfect. When do you feel creative? Give yourself a mental challenge to dream up your next chance for a lovely occasion. Isn’t there always something to celebrate if you stop to think about it? It could be the end of winter, the return of birds and spring, the turning of the leaves? I love to be inspired to cook with the seasons, and that can lead to menus that are just organic, foods that are nutritious. As opposed to restaurants, I love that at home I can choose the ingredients with care. I can be creative in what I cook and I can enjoy the company of my family and friends. All in one lovely occasion.
