Kitchen mindfulness

Winter solstice, I was cutting up onions, and I felt gratitude for Anandi teaching me her kitchen knowledge, which in part is mindfulness in the kitchen where I wasn't always mindful, and supported the cultural shift towards plant based diet.

I worked at Ponderosa Steak House in high school, and quickness was valued above anything. I learned the flip, rotate, flip method of putting hashes on meat. Restaurant work is hard work, I'm always kind to restaurant workers. The upshot for me was sometimes in the kitchen I can be a bit hurried and unmindful. 

Lessons don't sink in right away, but do much later. Tasting as you cook is a learned skill. Poverty has shifted me into the kitchen even more.

I let my food cool down a little bit sometimes, don't want to burn the taste buds. I'm not sure if I've always been open to receiving feedback. Patience with other's autonomy is an important aspect of being in the kitchen with others.

I wish everyone a happy winter solstice. The shortest day of the year in NYC with a day length of 9:15:17. Days start getting longer tomorrow, December 22nd, 2022