Sunset, November 26, 2022
Culinary Therapy
There are so many good reasons to spend time cooking your own food. One that doesn’t get discussed much is the calming, re-centering effect cooking can have when you’re going through some bad stuff.
If you read Saturday’s Local Food Forum or know me from social media, you already know how bad our stuff was last week. On Wednesday, we went to our vet (Mid-North Animal Hospital, highly recommended) to discuss why our sweet cat Sami was sleeping so much and eating and drinking so little. This seemingly routine visit turned into a crisis as we learned she had a hidden blood disorder that was so far advanced that nothing could be done.
We brought her home and hoped we could give her at least a few days of comfort and company before we’d have to make that compassionate but terrible decision. The apartment was already stocked with all the ingredients for our Thanksgiving dinner, so I spent hours on Thursday re-centering my mind from the nightmare in which we were living.
First I made a sauce of local cranberries and apples. I chopped, boiled and mashed white potatoes. I prepared the dressing from a many-years-old recipe by Barb’s mom, and put it in the fridge while I dressed the 13-pound turkey I’d picked up the previous Saturday from the Jake’s Country Meats drop. I roasted the turkey by the process I shared in the newsletter before the holiday.
As the turkey neared completion of its cooking time, I cut up sweet potatoes to roast (I added maple syrup and cinnamon a few minutes before they were done), then popped the dressing in the oven to bake while the turkey rested. I made pan gravy.
There was only one thing missing. As I kept busy at the counter, I’d occasionally look down in the unrequited hope that Sami would rouse herself and amble in, or any sign that she might rally and delay the inevitable.
Nothing changed for the better and we had to let Sami go on Saturday. We know it was the right thing to do. That doesn’t make it hurt any less.
Sami never had any use for people food, which made her very different from our Gracie, whose passing in 2019 led to a rescue search that delivered Sami for her all-too-brief stay. Gracie was a much bigger cat and she loved people food, and she was an absolute fanatic about poultry.
Our kitchen has louver doors and when there was a turkey or chicken cooking, or especially on the counter, we had to block the doors off with a chair. That didn’t stop Gracie from trying, as you can see in the 2011 photo above.
From the bottom of our hearts, Barb and I thank everyone who has sent their thoughts and condolences. Folks who aren’t animal lovers and who don’t open their homes and families to animal companions may not understand why this is such a big deal, but so many of you do, and we are so grateful for your kindness.
Reminder: Tasting Event Tonight to Support the Evolved Network
Sebastian White, the chef and clinical psychologist who founded and runs The Evolved Network nonprofit, is someone who deeply understands the therapeutic value of food. In fact, his plan for The Evolved Network, which assists underprivileged Chicago youths, is to combined culinary and restaurant management skills plus urban farming with counseling and therapeutic services.
A reminder that there is an amazing food tasting event tonight to raise money for The Evolved Network. The event, titled Eat & Evolve, will be held at Eden restaurant at 2734 West Roscoe Street in Chicago’s Avondale neighborhood and will feature the culinary art of Sebastian and these renowned chefs: Sarah Stegner of Prairie Grass Cafe, Beverly Kim of Parachute and Wherewithall, Paul Kahan of The Publican, Rob Levitt of Publican Quality Meats, Devon Quinn of Eden, Tigist Reda of Demera Ethiopian Restaurant, Darnell Reed of Luella’s Southern Kitchen, and Mary Aregoni of Saigon Sisters.
The event is amazingly priced at a $20 minimum tax-deductible donation (please give more if you can). Click below for tickets… hope to see you there.