if it makes you Happy
Hello my Foodie Friends!
The new year is a great time to reflect on where you are, where you’ve been, and where you’d like to get to next. Reflection is the perfect way to close the old year and open the door to the new one. As I reminisce of accomplishments and changes in life, I am reminded of the time my wife and I began our adventure to Upstate New York as part of a corporate relocation. It is amazing to look back and see how quickly the many years have gone by. While Paula would travel weekly to the Rochester/ Buffalo area for work, I would often be taking our two children to dinner after work. One memory was while catching a quick dinner downtown. On the music speaker at the restaurant was a song that was very popular at the time. Our daughter Aubrey, who was almost four at the time, recognized the song and with spontaneity, jumped on the table and started singing “If it makes you happy, then why the —- are you so sad!” by Sheryl Crow. She sang with enthusiasm as if she understood what the words meant! I had to quickly cover her mouth. Paula and I reflect on those times of when we were basically “two ships in the night” making life work while we were both working in the corporate environment. The weekends were the only times we really had as a family to sit at the table and enjoy a good, home cooked meal. We both would travel for our job and appreciated having something home cooked. Paula often stated that cooking on the weekends made her happy. It was our true family time. How does cooking make you happy? Here are some reasons:
Once you start to look at cooking the same as driving your car, working at your career, or practicing your hobby, the things you do without thought every day, you will enjoy the same benefits of cooking that make you happy. #1) Freedom – You have the freedom to cook ANY ingredients that you can find, even if you don’t exactly know what they are. You can create fantastic meals from the items on-hand and don’t have to run to the grocery store for food that the recipe commands. Make recipes from what you already have.
2) Confidence – Have the confidence to know that meals will be a winner every single time because you can repeat a standard process on a wide variety of foods. Saute’ many different ingredients, or cook one ingredient in many different ways. Confidence makes you happy.
3) Health – You can be happy because you know you are improving your health with wholesome foods that you cook yourself. Purchase nutrient rich fresh foods and you can experience more energy, more brain power, and better sleep patterns because of good food. Learn to cook fresh foods!
4) Family – Cooking is a social skill. My family is excited when we cook because they know it will be creative and interesting. We attend more parties because of our cooking skills, and can talk about food topics because we have been behind the stove and seen what happens when we apply heat. Being around friends and family with a good meal can make you very happy.
Life can be hectic. Planning our meals and being able to have the time to cook is not always an ideal situation. However, spending time at the dinner table discussing life events, plans, or simply savoring your own creation can make you happy. Let us help you with your culinary needs. One of Sheryl Crow’s favorite foods is sweet potato fries. At Compliments to the Chef, your Neighborhood Kitchen and Cutlery store located at 33 Railroad Place, we stock a great French Fry cutter and other accoutrements to make your fries quickly and straight
I am not sure if the restaurant appreciated my daughter singing on their table. However, it is a story that we still laugh and talk about at the dinner table. That song is still one of our favorites! So, “If it makes you Happy” then make wonderful memories together. Remember my Foodie Friends, “Life Happens in the Kitchen”.
Take Care,
John & Paula
