Flaky sea salt
Annie & Alison Newsletter #10
Lately, my mind has been occupied by just about everything other than food. On Thursday evening, I came home from a workout class and had about 30 minutes to shower, dress, and prepare the blood orange salad before my in-laws showed up for dinner. But my mind was far, far away from anything that had to do with the tasks before me.
Instead, I was roaming our future Chicago neighborhood, thinking of commuting routes and traffic. I was in a PT office complaining about my throbbing leg tendon that continues to flare up every few weeks. I was in the Minneapolis skyways, wondering how close Jordan was to coming home. I was anywhere and everywhere but my kitchen.
And then something beautiful happened. A blood orange brought me back to consciousness. Avocado turned off the rushing river of to-do’s and questions about my future. Cilantro made me pay attention. Flaky sea salt greeted my senses, the crunchy yet delicate feel of it between my fingertips.
I finally heard the conversation happening in my living room. I was present as I arranged the slices of ice water-soaked onions and squeezed lime juice over each plate. I took delight in arranging the fruit and drizzling the olive oil.
Cooking grounds me. It pulls me from whatever corner my mind is exploring and plops me squarely in front of the cutting board, stove, oven. I am where I am when I cook. And my life is richer for it.
This week’s reviewed recipes…
59 recipes cooked, 166 to go.
During this week of cooking…
I learned… that swordfish doesn’t do it for me. Also, did you know that if you soak red onion in ice water, it removes the onion’s edgy bite and makes it more palatable for a salad?
I read… (devoured, actually) Searching for Sunday by Rachel Held Evans. Evans was a writer and theologian who studied why so many people are leaving the church. She herself left, and then came back, (and then repeated the process several more times). Her description of that journey is as honest and real as it gets. I expected to walk away from the book with increased skepticism. Instead, I’m taking away hope. Hope for what the church can be, for how to look for it, and how to be it. If you go to church, or even if church isn’t your thing, I think a wide range of people would benefit from reading this book.
I listened… to Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets on audiobook. When I go on long drives by myself, I really struggle with staying awake. Two cups of coffee, singing at the top of my lungs, slapping my own face — none of it works. Before you start to excessively worry (Mom), I am a responsible adult most of the time and pull over at rest areas to cat nap or do jumping jacks when things get dire. I did so on my way home from Wisconsin this weekend. The only other trick that seems to work is listening to audiobooks. Engaging my mind in a story. And everyone knows that the Harry Potter series is truly an incredible audiobook series. Jim Dale is a stud.
xo,
Annie
