Lessons You Won’t Learn In School

Isn’t it interesting how lately simply thinking thoughts produce either immediate or almost immediate physical manifestation of those thoughts in some form?  

Just yesterday I was looking at all the multiple cookbooks I have lined up in my kitchen and began noticing the way they were grouped, and it all of a sudden clicked in my mind that each of those groupings actually chronicled lessons learned from different times in my life.  

The very first cookbook I ever purchased while in grade school at the tender age of 8 was a children’s edition of  Betty Crocker I Can Cook; and the lesson there was I could expand my skills of not only baking what my mother allowed in her home, but things I wanted to create and eat! I still have that book and reminisce occasionally looking over it’s pages.  

Jump forward a good number of years to newlywed and some basic instructional type books; one being how to use a food processor and the other how to cook in a microwave and both provided delicious, easy to prepare recipes. How to creatively keep a kosher kitchen was also a part of this new chapter of life. Included during this time frame was learning how to cook more vegetarian meals to assist in household budgeting since kosher cooking was heavily meat based and more expensive and we needed to stretch the budget. I always had more food in my house than our friends who spent even more than we did on groceries because I learned, really learned, how to buy in bulk and staple items on sale to keep the kitchen stocked. Cooking from scratch was a true budget stretcher. These books inspired me to become more experimental in my culinary creations and began making my own recipes; which turned out successfully; for the most part!   

After the divorce, searching for who I truly was meant to be, came the vegan/raw vegan phase of life which resulted in classes for new skills and certifications to become a raw food chef and teacher.

My cookbook collecting continued through the years of marriage as I would read these books like some people read novels.  They fed me visually, because if there weren’t pictures I wouldn’t own the book; challenged me mentally to see where the progression of ingredients were going toward what the end result would look like and physically the end result after having put all the ingredients together so we could enjoy and be fed. Because of this, today I can quickly scan a recipe and immediately know if it’s a well created concoction. 

The collection became so large I had to give myself a rule: If there aren’t at least two recipes that you will absolutely make you can’t buy the book.  

There was the low fat phase during a desire to release weight and eat healthier, which I excelled at but learned my body could only sustain that for a limited time. So time for new learning and experimentation.  

After the divorce, searching for who I truly was meant to be, came the vegan/raw vegan phase of life which resulted in classes for new skills and certifications to become a raw food chef and teacher. My body and mind began revealing so many truths during this time that after a year and a half the cold northeast winters were playing havoc on my metabolism and emotions that had been buried were arising faster than I could address, I knew it was time to find some balance.  

During this phase I came to world wide cuisine options. Indian, Chinese, Thai; which educated me on how we can control our spiciness of being in the moment.  Also, these books because of their beautiful pictures allowed me to feel as if I’d actually traveled to these exotic locations. 

I knew it was time to find some balance.  

Desserts were and always are present as without some sweetness in life there is a feeling of something missing. The uplifting when we are down. 

Bread! Let us not forget bread!  For bread brings the sandwich; that which marries worlds together and provides a comfortable filling for soft landings. Comfort on so many levels. 

So the lesson learned is we are always learning lessons, even when we aren’t present to the learning. Yes, I do still collect cookbooks, that’s right!