If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.
—J. R. R. Tolkien
Of all the simple pleasures in the world, none are so basic, so fundamental, to the human experience as those found in the kitchen: food, family, camaraderie, ritual. This book celebrates our human tendency to raise the necessity of eating to a shared experience of meaning and celebration, and to find deep pleasure and joy in making the kitchen the heart of the home.
The writers in this collection sent their stories from around the globe, sharing love of certain foods—chocolate figures prominently, but also artichokes, pickles, and cabbages—and treasured family recipes—brisket and meat loaf as well as cookies and cakes of all sorts. They captured moments too—moments of laughter, of cooking errors, of holiday feasts and solitary pleasures. They offer peons to their appliances, to reveal passions for collecting and arranging the “stuff” of the kitchen.
But far and away the predominant theme here is the joy of learning to cook with beloved others. Not all of us had a cookie-baking grandmother, but many of us did, and if not, a mom or aunt or uncle was often there to provide instruction and a lifetime of recollection.
The kitchen is the place that we provide nourishment to body and soul, where family ties are created and strengthened, where enormous creativity and variety is born of the necessity for daily sustenance. May this collection connect you to your own luscious memories as well as help you discover a few new joys to whip up in your own kitchen.
—Susannah Seton