Sharing Recipes

Cooking. Baking. Making. Eating. Sharing.

I love all of that.

Measuring. Pouring. Washing. Peeling. Chopping.

Spoons – both wooden and metal.

Glass bowls; big to small.

Metal pans; rectangular, square, round.

Pots and Lids.

Hots and Colds.

All of it.

Recipes from books, magazines, the Internet, handwritten from friends and family.

Sharing favorites.

I’ve talked to a lot of cooks and bakers during my 61 years on this Earth and have complimented many dishes; some of which were shared by their kitchen creatives. Others said, “Sorry, I don’t share.” One said, “Yes, I’ll share, but you are the only person outside the family who will ever get this and you must promise never to share it.” I took the recipe, used it often and never shared it. I felt a little guilty about not sharing because it was such a great recipe, but a promise is a promise.
Soup.

Lately I’ve made a lot of soup and have had a good friend bring me soup when I wasn’t feeling well. The Food Network taught me a great way to make soup so the vegetables aren’t soggy, squishy and gross. I shared that with my sister who now makes soup with the method I told her about. She also uses Better Than Bouillon which I swear by as making your broth rich and flavorful. I shared with her because I love her and want to enrich her life as a cook and baker, skills we both love.
I’ve talked to other cooks and bakers about sharing recipes. A few have told me that they share, but leave out a step or a ‘secret’ ingredient. Food meant to be shared and enjoyed by community should have all the pieces to the puzzle. It makes all the cooks involved look good.

Last night as I lay in bed with Bossman’s snores gently blowing past my ear, I had my late night talk with God and thanked him for certain stuff in my day and asked him to do his thing by watching over special friends and family members. I was having a nice conversation with him when I realized I had started sharing my soup recipe and methods with Him. I was telling God how to make vegetable soup. I was very exact so He’d get it right. The size of the potatoes, carrots, onion, green beans. The oil/butter combination. The temperature of the pot. When to add the veggies, the stock, the Better Than Boullion and can of white beans. How He should cook the digitali separately and add it at the end. I saw every chop, every bit go into the pot. I smelled the wonderful aroma of the vegetables and spices in the oil and butter and I knew He was listening to every thought and direction. I was sharing my everyday joy of life with God so he could share it with others. He knows a lot of people, so I was pretty happy to think He might share this recipe, too.

This morning when I opened my eyes, I remembered sharing the recipe with God. Then I thought, “You’re losing your mind. Last night you told God how to make vegetable soup.”

I confessed my crazy sharing to Bossman, who just smiled. Then I ‘got it’.

Five years ago, when we first started attending church after a 40-plus year absence, our Pastor told me, “Susie, someday I want you to be able to have a relationship with God and just plop down on the couch and have a conversation with Him.”

I had looked at him like he was nuts.

Now, I can’t wait to let him know who I shared my soup recipe with.