I have found myself thinking a lot about recipes and the process of cooking - not just in the way I usually do for work (as I’m unable to work at the moment anyway), but as a way of filling my time and giving structure to my days. Or maybe it’s just that lockdown has given me time that I don’t usually have to really think about these aspects of cooking.
I’ve been thinking a lot about the place food holds in our lives and its power to establish and maintain relationships and traditions. I’m sure everyone has noticed a different sense of community coming out of isolation - I have noticed people giving away information and services as a gesture of generosity in ways that we don’t always see in normal life.
Although these are all small parts of a much bigger problem we are dealing with, they are meaningful ways of coping with it. I also know that everyone is missing socialising and sharing food with others IRL. Making food to share and going out to eat and drink with friends is a massive part of life that we take for granted.
As a way to solidify these thoughts I am hoping to start a collection of recipes created from communal contribution. For this reason I am asking you (if you feel like it or have the time) to make a contribution towards this. It could be :
a) a recipe that you feel is your speciality
b) a particularly memorable meal you shared with others (or ate on your own) - if you don’t know the recipe describe it and I will try and make one up for it as best I can
Or just something you like making. If you don’t like cooking, share a drink. Or something your gran makes or something you make for your baby.
At the end of this, I will collect these recipes into a format that can be shared amongst all of us, hopefully creating a sense of a shared experience as well as a varied resource to cook from.
Lots of love, Emma x