Cooking Unto Yourself

This carbonara has been perfected
for five years. Why didn't I stop trying?
My family's eating it for New Year.

I still cannot get over the extremely salty dish my younger sister cooked last night.

Not that I am rubbing in the fact that I am the only one, from among us three girls, who inherited that tradition of yummy cooking in the family. But I just couldn't understand why someone else's cooking could be so bad, no one - not  even the person who cooked it - can eat.

This brings to mind (and stomach) the importance of empathy. Yes, that quality of a person that is vicariously aware of and sensitive to the feelings of other people.

I used to tell those who ask me why I'm good at cooking that it could have been an innate talent or interest that I unconsciously developed from my mother - reasons that will forever erase their dreams of becoming better cook. Now, I know what to answer: cook something that you yourself will eat.

That tip will not require any special skill or taste-sensitive genes. It just simply asks that you do something because you yourself want it and that you want it so intensely, it overflows from your heart and you want others to share in it.

Who is a good cook anyway? Is he the one who graduated from expensive culinary schools and use techniques or ingredients that you can't even pronounced? Or is she the one whose food does not only satisfy your hungry stomach but your starving heart?

I'm fixing myself a left-over rice and sardines from the fridge this morning. I sautéd (that's a culinary term!) it and served it with omelet. Simple, yet done with consideration for one's self and for others (particularly Nanay who is always keen on budget). This is what every cooking should be.

Jesus said: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
I say: "Cook unto others as you would have them cook unto you."

Happy Saturday cooking everyone!

P.S. So, did my youngest sister eat what she cooked? No. She didn't.