Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Obligations

I enjoy reading and owning physical cookbooks.  I can spend hours in a bookstore running my fingers across glossy photographs of food, thumbing through pages of measurements and ingredients.  I also enjoy the small stories that come with them. Sometimes I crave the story more than the food.

Ina Garten, whose recipes have never failed me, wrote at the beginning of Barefoot Contessa: How Easy Is That? about dinner parties:

Your friends have come to see you -- not to critique your cooking skills.  I'm asked all the time, "How many hors d'oeuvres do I need to make before dinner?"  

 "None," is my answer.

I think of this often.  Not only when it comes to cooking but when it comes to life.  Sometimes I ask too much of myself. I invent obligations. In sorting through what matters, sometimes I fail to see what doesn't.



Posted by Melissa Sarno at 3:45 PM
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4 comments:

  1. Jennifer HoffineOctober 23, 2012 at 4:45 PM

    I do see how KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) should work, but I never seem to follow that advice.

    The problem is, the apetizers (or the thing I don't have to do) is the only part I want to do, but I have to fit in all the "have to"s first.

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  2. Susan KaneOctober 23, 2012 at 5:59 PM

    I appreciate the way you wrote this. My favorite is " Sometimes I ask too much of myself. I invent obligations. In sorting through what matters, sometimes I fail to see what doesn't." For a young woman, you possess insights I still struggle to grasp.

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  3. AnonymousOctober 23, 2012 at 9:19 PM

    "I invent obligations."

    I am so learning not to do this. Great post, Melissa. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Kelly SimmonsOctober 24, 2012 at 10:57 AM

    I share your love for Ina Garten's wisdom.

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