Ruth and I sit and chat just about every day. If we do not see one another in person, we have our conversation by telephone. Sometimes our talk is just a few minutes; other times we go on and on. Our conversations help us make sense of the world and its chaos.

Yesterday, while contemplating how many people will meet their April 15 tax filing deadline, our talk during tea turned toward making family cookbooks (as it often does). We discussed why people like to cook and create family cookbooks:

“I think people like to cook because they have to eat, and cooking is a necessity,” Ruth said.

“That is true. But, you know, Ruth, the reason I like to cook is that cooking is creative,” I mused.

“No, that’s not why you cook.”

“What on earth do you mean? Of course, I cook because cooking is creative.”

“No. You cook because you can control the outcome. Cooking is probably the only thing in life you can control the outcome with some degree of certainty. Certain, that is, besides death and taxes,” she added.

Wow. What an interesting perspective. It’s true that there is something about cooking that is positively therapeutic:

- Assembling and measuring ingredients carefully
- The ritual of stirring and watching the pot
- The process of selecting the utensils and serving dishes
- The satisfaction of knowing something good will come of your efforts

I suppose Ruth is right. I do like to cook because I can control the result. For me, as with others, cooking really is a kind of soothing therapy and antidote to all the chaos of life. And then, when I’m done cooking, I can eat (and write about it in my family cookbook)!  What better therapy is there?

Happy cooking & cookbooking,

Matilda

Making a recipe book? Check out all the recipe software and cookbook binding supplies we have at CookbookPeople.com.

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