Cultivating a Life-Giving Table
The sun goes to bed early, is late to rise, and is more hesitant to give out its life-giving rays at this time of year. The trees are beginning to yield to winter and become bare around the edges. The air is dry and cool. It’s time to make fires and cozy up around them in the dark of the evening and make a cheery haven indoors. Have you ever been driving, out in the cold, and you see a cozy looking house glowing like a beacon with smoke curling out of its chimney? You wish you could just knock on the door and be welcomed in with hugs and a hot glass of cider. That’s the sort of place I want our house to be in winter. I think the crowning jewel that brings together the spiritual and physical components of coziness together in winter is cooking hearty, soul-warming food!
I’ve been thinking, reading, and listening about preparing a delicious meal and the way it brings humans together in a warm, pleasant and safe place. If you think about it, cooking and eating are quite a big part of life! We do it at least three times a day, and if we go too long without doing it we will die. I believe cultivating goodness and nourishing the body and soul is maybe one of the best things you could do this winter for yourself and the people you love. It can be such a simple little thing to do! Here’s a mindful approach to making this essential part of being human more life-giving.
I feel very inspired by the seasons in my cooking. This time of year the body longs for warming, dense, hearty foods that fill your stomach and your heart and help you to weather the cold. In-season foods give exactly the nutrients your body needs at that time of year - it’s a cool little way that God provides for us through nature! I’ve been making lots of bone broth soups and adding a dash of wine, as well as coconut Thai soup, one of our recent favorites. Almost anything tastes good cooking all day in the crockpot, and the house is filled with aroma! Start with beef or pork or a whole chicken, add in lots of diced veggies, olive oil, herbs, and sea salt. You can’t go wrong! The other thing I’ve been making a lot is a sort of hearty winter Buddha bowl with wild black rice, roasted veggies, baby lettuce or marinated kale, and chimichurri sauce! I’ve been on a very restricted food regime recently working with a holistic dr., but I’ve still found a way to make delicious baked goods too, like pumpkin bread and ginger snaps! What have you been inspired to cook recently? I’d love to know and be inspired!
The sun is down and it’s dark when I’m making dinner, so I like to close the blinds, use some essential oils in the diffuser, and put on some music to dance to while I cook! It always puts me in such a good mood and I take so much joy in the process! Dancing and moving help me to let go of the day and all the to do’s and transition into a time of relaxing and savoring life and being in my feminine flowy energy. Michaela Boehm talk a lot about how important this is, so check out her book The Wild Woman’s Way if you are interested! Cooking is such a good, beautiful, wholesome part of life so better if you can enjoy the process! I think it can be very meditative if you allow it to be - just being in the moment, enjoying the colors and textures of the veggies, and taking a deep breath and unwinding from the day! Pour yourself a glass of wine if you need help. There is something about cooking for your loved ones that is very satisfying.
The table is important because it sets the tone for the meal. I don’t like too much seasonal decor because it can feel a bit cluttery, but I love to decorate our dining room table! I take a wabi-sabi approach and always seem to find a bit of colorful foliage, the last of the roses, dried flowers, or some interesting sculpture-esque bit of nature to bring to the table. I always, always, have candles on the table. I’ve had many different candlesticks over the years but my favorite has remained the eclectic brass collection which we had on our wedding day dinner tables. I buy the candles in bulk from trader joe’s because they are the best price and very basic. I think candles make all the difference - every night feels like we are having a romantic dinner and it’s so simple just to light the candles!
We like to take our time over dinner, slow down, and enjoy the moment. It’s one of my favorite times of day! We catch up with each other on how the day went, and talk and laugh together! You can share your rose and thorn of the day if you like. I have to be very intentional, though, to truly enjoy it - not getting bogged down by the stress of life, eating too fast, or getting on my phone. Dancing and getting present while I cook really helps with this. I try to breathe deeply and look into my husband's eyes, savoring the time we have together when the day is done! It’s our time of day that we always get to have! I feel amply rewarded for all my preparing and cooking when we get to enjoy this time together!
This has become apart of the day that get so much pleasure and soul fulfillment from, I truly love it! I used to almost feel a sense of guilt over cooking, that I should get it done more quickly, that is was a useless task to do over and over again, and I needed to hurry on to the next to do on the list, but I decided to change my mindset. My intention has been to slow down and savor such a simple thing as cooking and eating and I am glad to be finding my rhythm with it. Well, I am off to prepare rice and quinoa seafood spheggetti with olive oil lemon and pepper, and perhaps I will top it off with fresh paleo pumpkin pie! I think we will watch a movie and relax this evening. Wishing you and yours a cozy, pleasant night in your own little haven!
