🧑‍🍳 TREE 299: Get into the mood

One.

Katerina Pavlakis, The Intuitive Cook

Do you have pre-Christmas rituals? Window shopping. A home-made Christmas cake. Getting out the decorations. Digging out the recipes. Singing carols. Lighting candles. Whatever it is that gets you into the festive mood, take an extra moment to feel the joy and gratitude this brings.

Get inspired by recipes without getting stuck. Browse for fresh ideas but never be shy to adjust and simplify to fit your needs. And if you don't feel like experimenting on the big day, how about trying out some new dishes in the weeks ahead?

• Adopt a low impact mindset. Choose quality over quantity: buy less, buy better.

• Use everything, whether it's leaves and stems or bones and giblets.

• Use common sense to avoid waste: Food does not suddenly disintegrate the day after that printed date. My approach: If it looks, smells and tastes OK, it's fine.

• Think twice about presents – the gesture always counts more than the ‘thing’. Is it useful? Will it last? How was it made? Can you give an experience instead – a meal, a trip, a course, a memory? Something handmade or upcycled? What about the wrapping – can you reuse or recycle? (I love using newspaper. Yes, really!)

• Support independent small businesses where you can. Your butcher, greengrocer, bakery, deli and local book store will thank you more than you know.

Two.

Collage by Phoebe Weston. Enjoy more of Phoebe’s work here.

Three.

Katerina is taking us around the world musically this week. Today we’re back in Greece.

One more time: If you feel like you could use a little guidance with this whole intuitive cooking thing, Katerina is doing Zoom workshops on Friday and Saturday this week. (I’m not getting paid to tell you this. I’m telling you because I believe in what Katerina is doing and I’ve been on one of her workshops.)

Cook joyfully
Jeff