I am changing all the spices on my rack. I’ve been cooking with dull tools. Cinnamon and nutmeg, not as spicy; parsley, sage and rosemary, all dried dust from years ago- and I’m cooking with it like it was picked yesterday, wondering why my cookies don’t taste of the aromas and flavors I know and miss. When the spices were grown in the sun, picked, dried and packaged, they were also stamped, “best used by” some faraway date that would mark their slow gradual deaths- back to dust and earth. Somehow, I thought they would last forever…
When I cook, I want my food, like my life, to be alive with flavor. When I freshen up my spice rack, dumping old bottles of last year’s poultry seasoning, the same meats taste better. The same view looks better. My meals present a pleasant burst of color at the end of a long day.
I look at my life and see places where some of my tried and true strategies and old ways of looking at the world have also exceeded their expiration dates. They were fresh once, but now, the 21st century and this season of my life require new perspectives and application of new wisdom acquired to replace the old which has served its purpose. I keep trying to hang on to the last of the old to use it up, however, in many instances, I find its time has passed and there are new fresh perspectives to be applied to many of the same old situations, finally bringing about the change I seek. Old spices smell dusty, but familiar. New spices smell spectacularly fragrant, changing the very air the minute the bottle opens, inspiring creative menus every day.
And suddenly, a simple plate of spaghetti tastes like a new dish with garlic, oregano and basil fresh cut, bringing culinary joy to all who partake…
© 2015 A.L. Freeman
When I cook, I want my food, like my life, to be alive with flavor. When I freshen up my spice rack, dumping old bottles of last year’s poultry seasoning, the same meats taste better. The same view looks better. My meals present a pleasant burst of color at the end of a long day.
I look at my life and see places where some of my tried and true strategies and old ways of looking at the world have also exceeded their expiration dates. They were fresh once, but now, the 21st century and this season of my life require new perspectives and application of new wisdom acquired to replace the old which has served its purpose. I keep trying to hang on to the last of the old to use it up, however, in many instances, I find its time has passed and there are new fresh perspectives to be applied to many of the same old situations, finally bringing about the change I seek. Old spices smell dusty, but familiar. New spices smell spectacularly fragrant, changing the very air the minute the bottle opens, inspiring creative menus every day.
And suddenly, a simple plate of spaghetti tastes like a new dish with garlic, oregano and basil fresh cut, bringing culinary joy to all who partake…
© 2015 A.L. Freeman
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