WHAT THIS IS NOT
This is not a cookbook. It comes closer to being a self-help approach. It is not transcendental or mystic.
I think of it as a collection of quick and easy tricks that help me manage awkward, difficult situations that arise in my relationships with people… mainly family.
There have been no surveys, no lengthy research and only family has been interviewed, and informally at that. However, the classic scientific method of trial and error has been applied. More than half a century of observation and consideration has gone into compiling this rather silly way of handling things. But, since it works for me, I want to share it
It was my daughter who started me thinking along this line when she asked “How do you cope with what upsets you?”. It was then I realized my way of dealing with problems was usually retreating to my kitchen. It is also my way of celebrating.
Cooking for me is akin to what my husband once said about his smoking. I was elaborating on how harmful cigarettes are, and he was defending smoking on the grounds of the spiritual benefits it afforded. He said, “Smoking is my best friend. When I have a problem, I light a cigarette. If I am angry, I light a cigarette; if something has upset me, or frightened me, or surprised me, I light a cigarette. If there is something to celebrate, I light a cigarette.” I could say the same about cooking.
Thus for want of a better title, this could be called “The Kitchen Therapy” (Coffee Cake Psychology?).