For The Love of Food:

How to Cultivate Love in Cooking

Introduction

Food is necessary. That’s a fact. It’s part of the three pillars of survival–food, shelter, and water. To live means we must eat. And to eat, we must cook. But for its necessity, cooking is also an invitation to move inward. I believe cooking is innately spiritual. It can involve prayer, ritual, and interconnecting the senses. We can experience a multitude of things as we cook. Take it as a moment to quiet the mind. Here, I bring forth an idea for not just viewing cooking as a means of survival but as an act of love. Not just for others but for ourselves.

Ways To Infuse Love Into Your Cooking

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Set intentions

The easiest way to infuse compassion in your cooking is to set your intention. As you prepare the dishes, you can recite affirmations, pray silently, or visualize a white light filling the food. Remember the source of the ingredients. The farmers who harvested the ingredients. Cultivated the soil. The nature which raised it. Remembering your intention and preparation is a way to enhance the love you pour into your dishes.

Try To Source High-Quality Produce

Should you want to take the extra mile, sourcing fresh produce can alter the taste of your food. Though do note this isn’t a requirement. Purchasing and locating fresh produce can be difficult–especially if you live in areas where farm-fresh produce isn’t accessible. If you live in the city, you can seek out local farmers’ markets, community gardens, or neighborhood co-ops. And if you have the space, think about growing a small container garden with culinary herbs and vegetables. The importance is using what is available to you.

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Handle Things with Care

If you’ve ever watched a Japanese tea ceremony, notice how the participants handle the objects and tea. They notice the importance of each movement. The value of the objects they hold. The practitioner must focus on preparing and serving the tea as if it were the only thing that exists. We can implement these actions when we desire to cook with love. Handle each ingredient not just as a component of the dish but as something of great importance. Ingredients are gateways to creating the foods we love. It serves as a foundation. If we can handle food with compassion and care, it can translate into our lives as another reminder that the simplest things can be extraordinary.

Cooking is Creative: Food As Art

We can also approach food as a source of creativity by turning it into art. I’m not saying throw something on a plate and call it art (though I won’t stop you). Instead, we can take the time to design our dishes and create something masterful. Fine dining is a luxury for no reason. What separates regular dining from fine dining is the aesthetic and design. It’s not just a matter of taste, but eating with the eyes. You can create this same sense in your own life. Consider the ingredients you cook with as paint. You can combine, sautee, roast, and bake these paints into something grand. Get inspiration from photos, chefs, and magazines. Play with your food. Recognize that as tedious cooking can be, let there be room for play. Take cooking not just as an act of love but as a space for creative flow.

The White Rabbit

GUEST ARTIST

The White Rabbit is an artist who focuses on creating a community of like-minded individuals passionate about holistic living, tea, skincare, and more. Currently majoring in french and dance at Bennington College. She takes her many passions and pours them into poetry, short stories, and blogs (wuweicooking & Lelapinblancbeauty - Skincare, Beauty Blog)