Come back, cooking mojo?

People who say that food cooked with love tastes better are telling the truth… you wouldn’t want to eat my food right now, especially if it’s anything like the chocolate mousse disaster I composed with my brother last week – with all my regret, because it was on his birthday :-(.

I’ve been mostly impatient and/or uninspired in the kitchen of late, and distracted in grocery stores or markets. Eating out has been fun, but eating out all the time does no good for my health and for my pocket. Oh, I can barely believe that a few weeks/months ago I stewed an octopus, stuffed eggplants, formed spanakopita triangles, kneaded babka… well, where is that Mel???

What do you do when your cooking mojo goes hiding in a cave somewhere?

I want to revel in the sizzling of an onion, the browning of fragrant garlic; the rosy redness of a capsicum, the perfection of a peach. I want to bake at midnight again. Host a dinner party with pleasure. Smell the sweetness of celery and carrot. Observe the different, subtle stages of cooking. Eat just enough to be satisfied.

[I paused at this point for awhile and considered scrapping this useless blog post]

[Then decided to keep it – to keep it real, right? Afterall, I am not a domestic goddess blessed with perpetual bliss]

… hmm. I love how writing clarifies cloudy thoughts sometimes.

I think I need to get some sleep, since I’ve been staying up till 4am most nights this week working on a few things.

Then I’ll try to make spaghetti vongole tomorrow or Tuesday (with some nervousness… I bought a bag of clams and some chillies yesterday at the supermarket after circling the supermarket about ten times, battling distraction and irritation).

Also, I am thoroughly GLAD my third flatmate comes home this week from weeks of travel… I can’t believe how much I miss eating dinner with all three of them at the table.

Have a great Monday, everyone :-)