The Kitchen

The kitchen. Perhaps it is the smell of something cooking that draws us in. But in a world where we can multi-task, eating and doing three other things at once, there must be something that keeps us lingering around the counter a little longer.

I’m someone who finds comfort in our sweet space of a kitchen, and I’ve been away from it for awhile now. After a long drive North, my husband, dog and I have been staying with his family in Connecticut. Yet, like butter, the discomfort of parting indefinitely from a place that is my anchor melted away. We settled in to our home away from home, and we gathered in the kitchen.

The lake has always felt like that familiar home to me. It’s a way to know my husband’s story, what makes them laugh, his childhood, their memories. The cool air and the nights over wine and the trips for coffee and the trees.

This trip, without the limits of a departure date, it’s brought an even deeper sense of home. And we’ve met in the kitchen.

We gather, over recipes from loved ones I long to meet, who left us years ago. And I meet them through the stories, as we huddle to dip spoons into their sweet chocolate frosting.

Cocktails are crafted. Lovers of wine teach us how to taste. Dishes are made, inspired by the places we have been. Some share their joys of cooking, others their knowledge of kitchen tools, some their comfort in baking, or their practice of keeping a brilliant kitchen.

I’ve seen dinner parties end around a kitchen island over bottles of wine. But to see a family, bringing in new people, learning of one another’s passions, keeping memories alive, that is a rare joy I feel so grateful to now know. To be welcomed into a kitchen other than your own to do more than stir the mix is like a fully open door. One that extends far beyond the kitchen itself, but to the people who gather in it. To discover where the cheese grater is kept and how their dishwasher is loaded is that familiarity of family.

I’ve long felt at home with Will, with his family, and this dear spot in Connecticut. To be gifted with so much time, time spent around the kitchen and the table has brought a new way of seeing just what food can do. And like that familiar recipe that continues to speak comfort, ease, and always joy overtime, much the same can be said for this time in my mother-in-law’s kitchen.

Cake recipe from Sweet Laurel Bakery in issue 11 of Cherry Bombe Mag