Food as Expression

I don’t really think of myself as an artist. I don’t think of myself as very creative. But the reasons I don’t think of myself as artistic or creative is because I have been stuck thinking about creativity as strictly painting, sculpting, writing music, writing stories… I can’t do any of those things well (in fact, I’m so bad at writing that it takes me several days just to write one of these posts). But I can make a damn good chocolate chip cookie from scratch, with my own recipe. And I can start with just some chopped onions and create a savory mushroom soup. And I can tweak ingredients and work with what I have on hand and explore new methods. Sometimes I make mistakes, like trying to make a cheese sauce without first making a roux *YUCK*, but I learn from those mistakes and improve next time. All of this takes creativity and I just never realized it.

And now that I’m vegetarian, almost vegan, I have to be even more creative. I can’t just cop out and add bacon fat to everything to make it taste good (I’ve been guilty of this before). I have to think ahead, to press and marinate my tofu. I have to consider what makes something “cheesy” without cheese (Pro-tip: it’s pureed cashews and/or nutritional/inactive yeast). I consider how to make a traditional dish vegan while still retaining the flavor character. I can start from a recipe and add my own flair, or start completely from my imagination.

My ingredients are my paints and my pots and pans are my brushes. I paint with ingredients grown with love from the labor of local farmers. I also paint with ingredients that didn’t lead to the unnecessary death of any animals (well, mostly.  I still have butter and mayo on hand which I won’t waste so I will use it until it’s done). My brushes are old cast iron that have seen many meals, and wooden spoons stained with turmeric.

I find great joy in putting together simple ingredients that become much more flavorful than their individual parts. And on top of that, sharing my creations with my friends! Most of family isn’t too fond of my cooking because obviously a meal made up for 80% vegetables is “weird” and “gross”. But I enjoy it. I enjoy a hobby that is practical because I have to eat anyway, so why not make my body healthy and my brain happy while I’m at it!