Cook For Your Real Life - And Make it Better In the Process

Plus multipurpose Chimichurri Sauce

Who are you cooking for?

Interesting question right? Maybe a weird one but it’s worth thinking about because we live in a world where so often we’re trying to project a version of ourselves maybe without even knowing it just to ‘keep up’. To impress or perform in some way. This is no different in cooking as there’s so many places to look nowadays to make us think that we have to keep up with the drool worthy Instagram photos, or the latest tik tok food trend. Man, can that take the fun out of it - when there’s this pressure to make it look or be a certain way.

Cooking is supposed to be something that adds to our lives.

It’s supposed to be something that not only nourishes and sustains us but brings a sense of comfort, pleasure, and yes, joy. And you know what? Your day to day cooking probably isn’t going to be the most instagram worthy food, nor is it going to be anything flashy or fancy.

And it doesn’t have to be. I just has to be something that you enjoy.

There’s no secret to good cooking. It’s not exclusive to certain people.

The only secret is to find reasons to want to do it more and that comes from understanding techniques, learning cooking methods that you actually like doing, and experimenting to give you the confidence to be able make anything delicious.

Most importantly, do it with love. Do it to add to your life in a real way.

I’ve been thinking about a few things that help me in my everyday cooking that might help you approach cooking in this way and I’m sharing them below. These are things that support me with this kind of intentional cooking. Because it’s not usually the recipe we need, it’s the permission to give ourselves a little more freedom in the kitchen to make cooking our own.

“To cook with love is to cook with freedom and care. You know you are on the right lines when you make a sandwich for yourself with as much care as you would bring to Christmas dinner; or when you cook a fancy dinner with same freedom you bring to making a sandwich.” - Bee Wilson

Use time as an ingredient.

I see this one alot when it comes to reasons for not cooking. No time. Listen I get it, we’re all living full lives but I really believe there’s ways to integrate a regular cooking practice without it feeling overwhelming. One way to do that is to think about time as an ingredient. Some days you might have ten minutes, other days maybe you’ve got nothing but space in your day which means you can devote hours to the process. Both are amazing and have a place, but there’s nothing more stressful than trying to put a meal together that will take an hour when you’ve only got twenty minutes. Talk about setting yourself up to fail - no one wants that! So when you’re thinking about what to make for dinner, get into the practice of adding the time component to your ingredient list. It instantly sets you up to make the process that much more doable and takes the pressure off.

Be intentional with your pantry.

I’ll say this until the end of time that having a well stocked kitchen will help anyone who wants to cook better or more often. When you’ve got things onhand that you can reach for easily, it means you’re way more likely to jump in and do it more often - maybe even get a little more creative in the process. When I say intentional I mean to stock things that you’re actually going to use and that you like, not things that you think you should have. Create a baseline of ingredients that your reach for often and then build from there. I like to have things I know I use alot and then I’m usually grabbing something different I haven’t tried to experiment with but when I have my baseline covered I know I’ll be able to step into my kitchen and make something anytime. And there’s something that always feels so good about that. I also talked about a seasonal pantry in a recent podcast episode with some things that are in my pantry right now. Have a listen HERE.

Create your own routines, rituals, or practices - ones that work for you.

We each get to create our own cooking practice. One that works for us. Because the way I cook on a daily basis is probably going to be a little different than yours. We’re all unique and we lead unique lives so why would how we cook be any different? I realize I have more flexibility in that I don’t have kids to feed everyday and maybe you do. There’s so many factors that can come into play but again it’s just about putting some thought into how you want it to look. What would make it easy? Or just feel really good? Do you like to prep a few things at the start of the week to cut down time on weekdays? Can you make cooking more of an event - pour a glass of wine, turn on some music (kitchen dance parties are highly recommended). Can you get the family involved and delegate duties? What about taking a minute to set up your kitchen in a way that works for you even if it doesn’t make logical sense. It’s these little things that will help create space for it to feel good. I like to call cooking a practice but you can use any word that works for you; ritual, routine - again, it’s all about making it something you look forward to spending time doing on a daily basis.

Make it Meaningful.

I’m going to full on contradict myself right here and say I know that you won’t always look forward to it. I don’t. But the thing I do know is that if I’ve had a crap day and all I want to do is eat ice cream straight from the container, if I can get myself in the kitchen and simply focus on mincing the garlic, then tossing it in some olive oil in a pan and slowly stirring, things start to change. The smells are always a comfort. Being mindful about each step, no matter how small. And sometimes it is just beating eggs with a fork, then gently swirling them in a pan and watching them transform into an omelette. Being present to what I’m doing and remembering that when I make the time to create a meal, it matters. It makes a difference. It can change my day. Even if I don’t feel like anything else was right in the world, I took the time to nourish myself and that will always matter. It’s everything really, and sometimes it’s easy to forget that this part of our daily life does actually mean so much.

What’s Cooking This Week: Chimichurri Sauce

Another one of my regular practices in the kitchen is to try to have what I call multi-purpose flavour bombs in the fridge. These are things that can be used all kinds of ways and can often be a starting point for me to pulling together a meal - something I see in the fridge and know I can get creative with.

These are sometimes store-bought but alot of the time it’s something I whip up and use over a few weeks in different ways. Pesto, maybe a homemade curry paste, or this chimichurri sauce are a few examples.

Now this is again more of guide than a recipe - I switch it up by leaving out the chilies, adding smoked garlic instead of fresh, using fresh over dried herbs. It all depends of what I’ve got on-hand but I know I usually have all of these ingredients in the kitchen so again, it’s something that I can make anytime.

I use this in the classic way over steak but it works for any kind of meat or fish, on roasted vegetables, as a spread for a sandwich, stirred into polenta, drizzled it over a rice bowl, or even as a dressing for a warm salad with squash or sweet potatoes and brussel sprouts. Yum!!

Chimichurri Sauce:⁣

• 2 cloves garlic, minced⁣

• 2 tbsp dried oregano (or 1/4 fresh)⁣

• 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped (or 2 tbsp dried)⁣

• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar ⁣

• 1/2 tsp chil flakes

• 1/2 cup olive oil ⁣

• salt and pepper to taste⁣
  ⁣

Mix all the ingredients until we’ll combined. Let sit for at least 30 minutes before serving.

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