What Cooking Teaches Us
1) Effort Is Rewarded
Have you ever ever bitten into a slice of cake, and had a lump of powdery unmixed flour ruin the experience and taste of that bite?
Cooking teaches us that putting intentional effort into a project actually creates a noticeably better outcome.
When we're cooking, we practice little steps that seem laborious and tedious. Mixing the batter til there are no lumps. Chilling cookie dough for 2 full hours. Patting the meat dry before you put it into the hot pan.
But then, your fork sinks into the spongey goodness of a perfect slice of cake you baked. You admire the perfectly round and puffy cookies you made from scratch. Your chicken has the perfect caramelized and browned exterior, with a crispy skin that crackles when you bite into it.
In cooking and in life, your effort and care directly improve your outcome.
2) Nourishment is Fundamental
Some folks just plain forget to eat. We all know friends (or maybe we're guilty of this ourselves) who seem to see their nourishment as an afterthought. They go hours and forget to eat anything. They can't quite get the hang of keeping easy snacks or meals in the house. They suddenly pick their head up from their busy day, and realize they're starving.
We don't want our kids to grow up putting their self-care needs last. All humans deserve to be well-nourished and energized, all throughout the day.
Cooking teaches us that food is a fundamental part of everyday life. It reminds us to be intentional with how we bring nourishment and care to ourselves, as well as our families.
We should never forget to nourish ourselves!
3) A Mistake Isn't The End Of The World
Have you ever heard of a sauce "breaking"? It's when the fat and the water starts separating, and your sauce becomes clumpy rather than smooth. Your mixture is no longer emulsified.
However, the beautiful thing is that you can almost always "fix" a broken emulsion. My favorite example of this is Samir Nosrat's solution for a "broken" mayonnaise from her book, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat:
In a fresh bowl, add a tiny bit of very hot water, about ½ teaspoon.
Start whisking vigorously, using the same whisk that you used for the mayo. It should have a bit of the oil and egg on it still. That, combined with the hot water, will be the start of your fixed mayo.
Add your broken mayo just a drop at a time, whisking the whole time.
By time you’ve added half the mayo back, it should be back to its creamy consistency.
Cooking is full of these examples. "Fix" a salty sauce by adding something to absorb the over-salted liquid (like potatoes or extra leafy greens). "Fix" a dry over-baked cake by brushing it with simple syrup, or soaking it in sweet milk.
In cooking and in life, mistakes will happen. Embrace them, and let them teach you something new!
As of March 2023, our registration for the Spring Break session of Kids Partake Cooking Camp is now open! If you’d like to reserve your spot, call us at 718-351-7333.