Food and home

This past week I set up a new cat tree for Tom, the resident feline here.  He has taken a liking to it.  Considering how notoriously picky cats can be, I was very glad to see he liked his new digs.  He especially likes the top perch in which he curls up and sleeps sometimes.  So this new piece of cat furniture is a welcome addition here.  And home is even more home for him now.

One of the great things about spending time making food is that it makes home even more home for each of us.  Whether it's trays of palet d'or sitting in the morning beams of sunlight in the kitchen ....

or beautifully baked brownies placed on the kitchen counter waiting to be eaten ...

or apple slab pies filling the home with aromas of fruit and cinnamon and butter ... all of these things make home even more home.

Sometimes the foods we eat take us back to our childhood and to memories that are pleasant or important, and in that way home from the past is brought forward to our present.  Sometimes the foods we eat help us create a new home, one that is filled with new people or new memories.  Sometimes the foods we eat make us feel safe and comfortable and cared for.  And sometimes they are a respite from the trials of daily life.  For each of us I imagine it can be different, but there's no denying how important foods are to us, not just because we have to eat, but because they are part of a complex series of emotions and desires and needs that are part of our past, present and future.

I find it very interesting to think about how food affects us all in different ways.  For me, one of the most important aspects of making food is that it creates peace, and peace is something that I've recognized as essential to our lives ever since I was young, and that has been reinforced in my personal philosophy through years of experience since then.

So whether you are eating good food, or making good food, or sharing good food, or all of those, here's hoping it brings something good to that moment for you and those around you.