The journey from grief to gratitude began with food
What started as a diversion from grief has become a catalog of my recipes for family and friends. I began this blog after my father died. Our family had just waged and lost a seven year battle with Alzheimer’s. We knew it was a fight we would never win. We thought we were ready to let him go. We weren’t. My life, for seven years, was spent cramming in every possible moment with my father to make memories. The irony still smarts. In his absence, I struggled to fill the broad swathes of time that I now had on my hands. Who was I, if not his advocate? If not the woman who made her Dad smile when she brought him sweets? Who was I?
After months of watching me mourn, my husband suggested that I start a cooking blog to fill my time. I threw myself into it. I experimented with staging and rode the learning curve of photography (which admittedly – I still struggle with) and website building. I wrote and rewrote recipes and introductions, trying to connect but always feeling like I’d overextended myself. The original writing tones changed from wistful to overly friendly and ultimately settled into a comfortable level of minimum chitchat; here’s your recipe, not my life story. But what I did most, was cook.
I stood in my kitchen and I cooked. It turns out that the key to unlocking my grief was doing something I knew by heart, something my father had taught me. I leaned into that continuity. Heartbreak became determination; and somewhere along the way, I found myself again.
It has taken me some time and many trials, errors, failures and triumphs for me to figure out that this culinary journey was born more
from love more than loss. Food is how we express the depth of our caring. In any culture, in any cuisine, the heart of a home is its table. Only my most beloved make it to my table. Food is my love language. Chances are, if you’ve found your way here; it’s yours too.
So with that, and with love, hope you find something you want to bring to your table.
Thanks for being a part of this journey.
xo,
-S-