What I love the most about modern cooking is the accessories that are available in the market to help lessen the load.
I know right now you are probably thinking the first thing I am going to talk about is a blender or a mixer, but I’m thinking more in the lines of an iPod, yes music!
Well, it does not really have to be an iPod; it could also be a little radio with your favourite radio station. That little distraction helps turn the whole process into more of a hobby than a household chore.
Let us not forget that cooking comes with a whole lot of cleaning, and the best way is to clean as we cook so that it does not overwhelm us in the end. Besides, who really wants to clean after having a meal?
I would rather relax and watch television or read a book.
We all know that entertaining and cooking go together. The first thing we think of when we have people around is what to feed them. When there is music playing in the house while you cook, it becomes a lot more fun and entertaining and the chances of scoring a helping hand are even higher.
I do not think anybody wants to be locked up in a quite kitchen being the cook while there are conversations, fun and games going on in the living room. I would rather not shut my guests out when I’m cooking; that little beat playing in the background can pull people into the kitchen and relax them. We might not need that extra hand but I am yet to meet somebody who does not welcome plain old conversation while they are cooking.
Of course, there could be argument that music could disturb concentration and cause some people to mess the dish up. My argument is against that intense concentration in the first place.
If you are cooking in your own home for your own family or friends, what is the intensity about?
We deal with a lot of tension and rigidity out in the world on a daily basis, when we come back to the habitat that is our homes we want to relax a bit. That is supposed to be the place where we break conventional rules and make our own without getting in trouble. I agree that there are certain recipes that can not be altered like pastries but if we learn them while listening to music or the radio we can keep preparing them in the same fashion.
As for all other dishes, I encourage my friends all the time to stray a bit from grandma’s recipe and throw in that touch of young free spirited modern artistry.
For example, what harm will do to top that Shepard’s Pie with mozzarella cheese? Just a thought!
And music has been known to kick start the flow of those same creative juices in our bodies.
Here is a picture I like to paint in people’s imaginations when I try to sell the idea of cooking to music; imagine a very cold weekend day like the ones we have been going through lately. The last thing you want to do is take your family out to go and eat where chances are you will want to curse every time somebody opens the restaurant door because they are letting in that freezing cold. My ideal eating plan on a day like that would be to put on our favourite tunes as a family or listen to our favourite show on radio and prepare a meal together.
You will be shocked by the way little kids see cooking as a fun adventure; to them I imagine it is like playing house in the real house. And as long as we give them that much needed adult supervision, why not have fun with our kids, put that music on and cook?
I personally find nothing wrong with a house that smells like fresh home cooking and also has some good music playing in the background.
I think music relaxes the mood and makes everyone feel comfortable. To me that could just sum up my definition of a happy and healthy home!
I know of some great chefs who even create play-lists in their music gadgets to specifically listen to as they get artistic in their kitchens. They say time seems to pass quicker when they cook to music.
