My happy place

The Kitchen is my favourite room.
I think this love affair started in my childhood. All the big and important things were discussed in the kitchen. We all ate in the kitchen too. It was quite big so the dining table was situated there too.
But what I loved most was the time when I used to help my mum with the cooking. That was a special time. I felt that during that time I could talk with my mum about anything so it brought us closer really.
When I think back about my childhood I see myself in the kitchen too. In a way it’s my happy place. When I’m sad or feel alone I look back at those moments spent in the kitchen and I feel happier.
Christmas time was spent baking old time recipes and experimenting new ones. The new ones were usually a disaster the first time around.
Every new recipe that was making it through our trial, meaning that we liked it, it was then written in my mums recipe notebook. Needless to say that some of those recipes were written by me too at my mums dictation.
When I check out my writing back then I laugh but it’s a good memory. Someday all my mums recipe notebooks will be mine. My sister is not a big cook like me so I’m sure she will not mind.

I learned the do’s and the don’t, the must and must nots from my mum while spending time with her in the kitchen.
My mum taught me that a good cook will always have the basics stocked in her kitchen: pasta, rice , stock , tomato paste and a well stocked spice rack.
She used to say that by having the basics you can always knock up a good and diverse dish. Needless to say I listened to her and I ALWAYS have the above stocked up in my kitchen.
From her I learned that I should reward my husband and kids by baking a cake every weekend. I remember how me and my sister use to battle to help my mum making the cream for her special brownie recipe for example. We knew that whoever was doing it will get to lick the spoon at the end. Funny how kids treasure simple things.
It got a bit easier for my mum though when my dad bought our first microwave. It was an event because back then not many of our friends had one. We used to warm up everything in it. Suddenly heating food in the microwave was like a science project.
We discover that by putting a slice of bread with a dollop of Nutella on top will melt the chocolate. My sister and I use to love our new discovered desert!
Not my mum though…as we would refuse our proper food after that.
Because of my childhood and the happy moments i had while spending time with my mum and sister i now feel totally relaxed when I’m spending time cooking and baking in my kitchen. Whenever I feel stressed baking a cake or cooking my family favourite dish helps me distress. It’s like being in a different world that I create. It helps a lot especially with my depression.
Do you have a happy place like me?