The Art of Healthy Cooking
It was the food critic Grimod de la Reynìere who two centuries ago said that "only the vulgar would see no more to a kitchen than saucepans and no more to dinner than dishes".
The art is cooking to prepare nutritious foods that turns the eaters on, making the process of being nurtured and of developing ourselves into a pleasure and a feast for our senses. The colors, textures, flavors, aromas on our daily plates will transform into those of our daily lives. Food can and will transform us. When cooking it is important to play with the variety of principles which we have at our disposal, and to stretch our imagination in order to create the world we would like to live in. Daily cooks, more so than the fancy haute cuisine cooks, are the builders of civilization.
So what are some of the principles
that we can use to help us create dynamic nourishing foods on which civilizations can continue to be built successfully?
Whole foods
Fresh foods
Local foods
Seasonal foods
Harmony with ancestral traditions
Balanced
Delicious
In order to create nourishing foods the various elements and ingredients in the cooking process should lead us to balance, but the search for balance can be tricky. We usually try to balance ourselves in odd ways, for example by getting into repetitive habits, keeping the same routines, eating the same foods cooked in the same ways year after year. We humans have the tendency to want to hold on to things and seek comfort and stability based on repetition; balance on the other hand is quite elusive. Balance is about keeping up with the constant changes of life, it is the state of reaching stability within constant movement. The fun part is that once we embrace the idea of change as the natural order of things, life becomes a game, we can walk hand in hand with nature, and enjoy the ride. You may ask what does this all have to do with tonight's dinner? The answer is everything. This coming Sunday July 23 I will be giving a cooking workshop titled Cooking for Health and Pleasure. In this workshop we will transform plants into delicious and healthy dishes that will feed your body and soul. Menu:
Tofu Croquettes
Beet hummus
Green Pea Coconut and Mint Soup
Fajitas Quinoa Pilaf with Corn, Spinach and Spring Onions Lemon Pies
Are you interested in our workshops and activities and would like to receive information? Drop us an email and we will keep you informed. theartofhealthycooking@gmail.com