Birds in a Kitchen

It's all too familiar. The air is crisp with the scent of oak and pine, the pungent aroma’s of lemon balm and stevia blooming in the garden, and the buzzing of bees right next to your ear that gives you a small cringe. I'm in Chapel Hill, NC once again. C'est Si Bon isn't just a cooking school/camp; it's a playground of unforgettable memories. The smell of coffee seeping in the french press in the morning reminds of Dorette's large 3-paneled kitchen window, which I love so much. I think the world of that window as every bird imaginable comes to it’s frames to eat from the cylinder shaped  feeder, many with new colors, but some old and familiar. Especially the red cardinal which visits almost every morning and afternoon.

Like the different birds that stop by for a bite, so do the kid-chefs. They're each unique in there own way bringing a spontaneous personality to Rich and Dorette's cooking school. The first week the kid chefs were on a world tour, visiting a new region, culture, and cuisine each day. Together we took a stroll in the French city of Lyon located between Paris and Marseille . We feasted on Salad Lyonnaise with roasted potatoes, rosemary croutons, bacon, fresh picked lettuce and small misshaped squares of herbed omelet. We foraged the alley ways for a helping of 'tian de courgettes et tomatoes' or zucchini and tomato Provençal (a twin sister to ratatouille). Of course our remaining puddle of savory tomato juice was soaked up with warm torn pieces of Fougasse (latter bread). The kid chefs worked so hard to earn dessert, they cleaned their way through the streets bistros to acquire the sinfully rich flour-less chocolate torte.

    The week continued to take us to Italy, Germany,and Spain. At the end of the day we are birds traveling the world with C'est Si Bon.

Keep on Cooking!!

My very own Kitchen Soother

 
As the scrambled eggs hit the the hot fat in the pan I can't help but close my eyes as I ponder on such a blissful sound. As I listened to the soft crackling of butter and the formation of raw eggs to cooked, it amazes me how something so simple could be so enticing. Like explorers pursuing the calls of the wild I listen for the sounds of the kitchen. The way the blade of a knife crunches through a rib of celery or the soft sweep of kneading dough. It reminds me why I love the kitchen so much. Some sounds have meaning like the clinking of silverware against a bowl. If you’ve done a good job the clink won't stop until they've finished they're plate, thoroughly enjoying your food. I thought about a “sound soother” or so I think that's what they call them. The small clock/radio’s that sit on a night table, desk, or in a day spa.

You might hear the relaxing sounds of rainfall, the power of a waterfall, the chirping of baby birds, but I hear things differently. If I could create a sound soother of my own and I could borrow the sounds that I could consider the most soothing, it would be as follows. The creaming of butter and sugar which is the sound of moist lard meeting minuscule granules of sweet sand.

The high heated bubbling of something being fried. The broiling of roasted tomatoes as they're juices erupt through their skin like tiny geysers.  The crisp cracking of an egg when its shell separates and the striking of a chefs knife against a cutting board. These are my sounds of nature, the bells and whistles of my kitchen. So if I might ask, what are your favorite kitchen sounds? What would they be on your "kitchen soother"? Tell me and Keep on Cooking.