Category Archives: Delight

A Recipe Has No Soul

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“A recipe has no soul. You, as the cook must bring soul to the recipe.”

—Thomas Keller, American chef, restauranteur, and cookbook author

Image of a vegetable pizza

Image from Unsplash by Edgar Castrejon

On a recent vacation, Wendy and I decided to visit one of the cruise ship’s specialty restaurants, where they up-charge for the higher level cuisine.

One of the specialty appetizers was home-made pizza cooked in a wood-burning oven. As a vegan, I was looking forward to the chef creating something extra special. Unfortunately, I was very disappointed in that all they did was put a bunch of raw, unseasoned vegetables on a piece of dough and baked it. It had virtually no flavor, and certainly no soul.

EXERCISE:

What special ingredients and soulful spices can and will you bring to life’s recipes to delight yourself and those in your various communities?

appetite makes eating a delight

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“Tis not the meat, but tis the appetite makes eating a delight.”

—Sir John Suckling, 17th Century English Poet

Image of a colorful feast

Image from Unsplash by Dan Gold

What are your very favorite foods?

Take a minute and actually visualize a plate or perhaps a buffet of your favorites set before you. Is your mouth watering and your stomach growling a bit? Consider these questions from the perspective of having an empty stomach, or being stuffed following a feast such as Thanksgiving.

Of what importance is having an appetite to your levels of pleasure and delight? In what other areas of your life could this metaphor apply?

EXERCISE:

What areas of your life cause you to hunger and feel delight in them? Consider the areas of learning, travel, work, community, faith, relationships, family, and adventure.

What other meaty areas would add to your delight, when getting full isn’t an issue?