Live Joy: The Recipe for Happiness

I don't cook a full meal every night but when I do, I immerse myself in the entire process of making a meal. First, the stage is set with recipe books spread out on the coffee table bookmarked with a dozen possibilities. The glossy photos look delicious and I start forming a meal in my head. My entree and its supporting characters are cast, and it's on to the grocery store.


Before the joy of cooking comes the joy of grocery shopping. This is the 2nd pleasurable step to joyful cooking. I love to food shop in a market that is bright, incredibly clean and well laid out. Pleasant colors on the walls and graphics are a plus, and wide aisles let me linger at the olive bar without having to move my cart for a shopper hasty to find quick meal items. The produce area can almost bring a tear to my eye out of sheer appreciation for the beautiful mounds of polished, colorful fruits and vegetables. They might think I am their ideal shopper since I am so drawn in by the display. But, I refer back to my shopping list. Well maybe one or two little impulse items. Oh now really it's three things but that's all.

Back home in the kitchen I wash the produce and get out a large chopping board. Pans are on the stove, bowls of cut vegetables sit at attention, and fragrant spices are pulled out of the rack. Ah, in step three there is the pleasure of being a well-coordinated food preparation machine. Timing and being able to pull it all together and make adjustments as necessary leave me feeling so darn competent I am elated. The smells that are happening now in my house beat any candle or air freshener.

I set the table to suit the season and the food I am preparing. Placemats, dishes, glassware and silverware are all considered but my selection is impulsive. The fun here in step four is to combine what I have in new ways, satisfying my appetite for visual composition. Candles, flowers, pebbles, a scarf, or whatever will work I use to complete the table. My husband walks in and happily exclaims, "You're cooking!" (He can confirm that I don't cook meals every day.) "Yes!" I say.

Dining together is the culminating step. We compare thoughts on the results of my efforts and enjoy our time together, as we have made a pledge to keep dinner conversation about things other than our daily problems. Since my cleanup is ongoing as I cook, the dishes are manageable. Leftovers are tucked into the refrigerator nooks and crannies for lunches later in the week. Yes, life is good.


The joy of cooking. The joy of working. The joy of living.
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Writing ©2009 Sara Goss All Rights Reserved
Grocery Store Photos ©2009 Sara Goss All Rights Reserved
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Real Estate is my full-time job in the Houston Bay Area of Texas. I help sellers sell their homes and I help buyers find the home of their dreams.
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Sara Goss
281-748-4380
HatmakerGroup.com GMAC Real Estate