Eating well inspired by Gwyneth Paltrow

My dear friend Kari Maxwell over at Create Everyday writes these wonderful book reports. I absolutely love reading the some of the "golden nuggets" from the books as well as her wise insights and perspectives. I particularly liked this "report."

Lately I have been feeling that my creativity is shifting into the kitchen, which has been great fun and I am grateful to be able to express myself somewhere, if not in the studio. It is a delightful time for us as Graeme is starting to eat a lot of the same foods we eat. It is so much fun to watch him try new things and see his reactions. I have always enjoyed creating good food at our house that is artful, yet delicious. A few years ago I perused My Father's Daughter, by Gwyneth Paltrow and I loved the relationship between meals, cooking and her children that were genuinely inspired by her relationship with her father. I recently picked it back up again and am happy to have this in my library. I rarely purchase cookbooks, but once in a while I treat myself.

Some of my favorite words:

"And he instilled in me the idea that a meal made for your family is an expression of love, a source of pleasure — not only in the visceral enjoyment of the food, but also in the magic that is created when you imbue food with energy and nurturing."

 I believe this to the core. Just like any artist can try to (re)create an existing piece of art, it almost always seems to really come their original piece because of their own energy and nurturing. There is a pasta dish that I make that is an absolute favorite EVERY time, and it tastes a little different EVERY time even though the ingredients are the same.

I regularly think of some parenting advice my father gave on occasion. His theory was that children positively respond to being trusted with something that they don't expect you to trust them with. And when they are trusted and complete something successfully, not only is their self-esteem buoyed but so is the connection between parent and child.

I really want to keep this in mind as Graeme gets older. I suspect my nature will be to act over cautious in the kitchen but I want to allow for him to explore his curiosities  if he is interested. And this definitely applies outside of the kitchen!

There are some great recipes. I prefer to keep things very simple and there are some ingredients in this book that seem out of the ordinary to me, but she is great about offering alternative ingredients.

I hope to try more recipes soon, but I love her recipe for Slow Roasted Tomatoes, Kale Chips, and the French Fries, yum!

One thing I keep wondering: Do people REALLY make their own chicken or vegetable stock? I never have and keep thinking I am missing out on something big.