Wine and food...
November 14
Had my second and last session with DiVino Wine Studio tonight at the Chelsea Club and I cooked up a feast as it was graduation night. I cooked an all vegan, whole foods meal with creamy squash soup with pepitas, tuscan purses filled with cranberry beans, mushrooms and root vegetables with fresh herbs and truffle oil, bitter greens and a rich porcini-sangiovese sauce that is very "meaty". For dessert, I made chocolate tortes covered with spicy dark ganache and a warm caramel sauce. It was nice to have the applause and appreciation of the extra effort I made to make the meal special for the guests, and that's why I do what I do. One of the participants said it was one of the best meals she's ever had when learning with DiVino Wine Studio and that was a big compliment, considering they've had some great chefs in the kitchen cooking for Antonio. But, I'll take the compliments when I can and I know I put a lot of work and passion into the meal and somehow people can feel this when they see and taste the food. I guess it's like when you listen to a certain piece of music or see a painting or read a passage from a novel and it touches you - gives you a tingly feeling down your spine - because you know, or perhaps you don't know consciously that it comes from the heart, from passion, from life. My yoga teacher says she is highly sensitive and can feel the energies in food and that's why she can't go out to most restaurants... there is so much anxiety and stress from the food preparation that she can feel when she tastes the food. Very interesting and reminds me of the fiction book that I'll have to read again called Coyote Cowgirl, about a girl that works in her family's kitchen and realizes that what she feels transmits into the food that she is preparing and the stories around this are very fun and interesting. I often think of this book and my yoga teacher when preparing food for guests and that reminds me to take a deep breath or two and try to stay calm, peaceful and mindful when cooking. That's what I love about cooking, the mindfulness nature of cooking and how I can bring my meditation and yoga practice off the mat to the kitchen, in particular about being truly present, and in the now.
Had my second and last session with DiVino Wine Studio tonight at the Chelsea Club and I cooked up a feast as it was graduation night. I cooked an all vegan, whole foods meal with creamy squash soup with pepitas, tuscan purses filled with cranberry beans, mushrooms and root vegetables with fresh herbs and truffle oil, bitter greens and a rich porcini-sangiovese sauce that is very "meaty". For dessert, I made chocolate tortes covered with spicy dark ganache and a warm caramel sauce. It was nice to have the applause and appreciation of the extra effort I made to make the meal special for the guests, and that's why I do what I do. One of the participants said it was one of the best meals she's ever had when learning with DiVino Wine Studio and that was a big compliment, considering they've had some great chefs in the kitchen cooking for Antonio. But, I'll take the compliments when I can and I know I put a lot of work and passion into the meal and somehow people can feel this when they see and taste the food. I guess it's like when you listen to a certain piece of music or see a painting or read a passage from a novel and it touches you - gives you a tingly feeling down your spine - because you know, or perhaps you don't know consciously that it comes from the heart, from passion, from life. My yoga teacher says she is highly sensitive and can feel the energies in food and that's why she can't go out to most restaurants... there is so much anxiety and stress from the food preparation that she can feel when she tastes the food. Very interesting and reminds me of the fiction book that I'll have to read again called Coyote Cowgirl, about a girl that works in her family's kitchen and realizes that what she feels transmits into the food that she is preparing and the stories around this are very fun and interesting. I often think of this book and my yoga teacher when preparing food for guests and that reminds me to take a deep breath or two and try to stay calm, peaceful and mindful when cooking. That's what I love about cooking, the mindfulness nature of cooking and how I can bring my meditation and yoga practice off the mat to the kitchen, in particular about being truly present, and in the now.
posted by Caroline at 8:20 PM
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