Obviously its a necessity to feed ourselves, but im talking deeper here. What inspires you? Who are your muses? What beyond the basic need to eat keeps you excited about food?
I am endlessly inspired by Nigella Lawson and her entire ethos around cooking. “Food is both a pleasure palace and a sanctuary.” “Cooking is a balm in troubled times.” “Food has the ability to make a real difference, every single day.” So many amazing quotes of hers ring around my head when im in the kitchen.
For me, cooking is spiritual, practical, creative and scientific all at once. It gets me on my feet, off my screen, and allows me to nourish myself and those I love. It requires all of my senses and no matter how practiced a recipe is there is always an element of improvisation.
I could go on, but im much more curious…why do you cook?
I cooked before I was vegan, but afterward, it’s become a way of exploring dishes and ingredients I never would’ve touched when most of my plate was reliably one of like four meats.
It’s been striking even years later how underexplored my tastes were solely because I trapped myself in the orbit of a few staples. Even eating out, I finally feel adventurous to the extent options exist. I feel profoundly happier cooking nowadays not because I’m freer to do anything (I was always able to try these things) but because I had to try new things and so finally let myself really explore cooking.