Consciously Cooking
Written by: Melanie Groves; Metamorphosis Healing
I came by this Artist’s Date quite accidentally. For those of you who are new to our Artist’s date, it’s a concept popularized in Julia Cameron’s book called The Artist’s Way where you take yourself on a date. Just you, by yourself for the purpose of experiencing something new and filling your cup.
I didn’t get much of a garden this year as we had to work at reinforcing the structure. I did manage, however, in a small structured area, to plant tomatoes. And oh, what a crop I got. It’s getting colder now and so I had to “save” the last of the tomatoes from the plants before the frost came. It was an impressive haul. Still some red ones and lots of yet to ripen ones. I lovingly plucked them and laid them out in trays in my front window where the sun graces the room for most of the day to allow mother nature to continue what she had started.
Fast forward about a week and the ratio of red to green increased. Despite sharing with family and friends I had a surplus of tomatoes. What to do? That little chill in the air served as my muse. It’s soup season—of course!
I don’t know what it was about the day but I ended up in the kitchen, by myself with simply the ingredients and myself. Almost as though I was invisible. Time seemed to stop. My senses were fully heightened. Even my inspiration for how to make a roasted tomato soup came not from a google search but from a soul search. It was magical, it’s as though I touched each tomato, infusing it with my awe of its transformation and at the same time soaking in the sun-kissed warmth of its perfection. The garlic smelled magical. The onions caramelized like a dream. The whole experience was maybe an hour. Yet it filled my soul. It was peaceful, blissful.
Huna principle #4 MANAWA teaches us that “Now is the moment of Power“. And yes, in that moment I was in my full power. Immersed fully in the present moment. No intervening in spats between brothers, no thoughts about “what ifs” and “shoulds”. I was simply in the moment, with my bare feet on the cool tiles, the heat of the stove warming my face and the smells of the tomato, garlic and onions roasting filling my senses.
It was brief and it was magical. No sooner had I finished with the immersion blender did the invisibility cloak dissolve and the noise of a household of boys come back to life. I poured myself a bowl of soup and savoured the love that flowed from the creation simply observing the whirlwind around me, still basking in my Artist’s Date.
