Table of Contents
Introduction 15
On Why I Wrote This Book 23
The First Thing: Mornings, Tea, and Meditation 28
Eight Simple Things to Do to Be Happy in Your Kitchen 31
The Three Intimacies 39
Intimacy, Part 1 The tangible world
A Bowl of Lemons 48
Lemon Curd 50
Don't Wait 53
On Being Intimate with Everything 57
On Loving Your Kitchen 60
Broken 62
Soji (or How to Clean Everything) 64
Occasionally Unplugged 68
A Simple Weeknight Curry 70
The Perfect Pot 73
Posture 76
How a Bowl of Bread Dough Can Teach Us the Way to Live 79
Patience 82
Beyond the Five Senses 85
A Radical Suggestion 88
Almost-Any-Fruit Custard Tart 91
Tending 95
When You Wash the Dishes, the Dishes Also Wash You 97
All You Need Is… 100
Staying Close to Difficulty 103
Just Two Ingredients 105
Listening to the Basil 109
Intimacy, Part 2 A State of Mind
A Small Moment of Attention and Beauty 117
Butternut Squash Roasted in Honey, Chipotle, and Crème Fraîche 119
Digging In for the Long Haul: A Few More Words on Meditation 121
Kitchen Notebook 125
Chicken Liver Pââté with Apples and Brandy 127
How to Cook Each and Every Day for the Rest of Your Life 130
Broad or Deep? 133
Potato Leek Soup with 12 Variations 135
What Kind of Cook Are You? 139
Comfort Zones 142
Fearlessness, Failure, and Vulnerability 144
The Perfect Salad (or How to Dress a Salad without Measuring Anything) 150
Cooking with Heart 157
How to Be Angry in the Kitchen 160
A Small Jar of Sauerkraut 164
Being Agile 167
Practice 169
Guilt in the Kitchen 171
A Quick, Busy-Week Dinner for One (or Many) 174
On Letting It Go 178
Dinner Can Be Many Things 182
Intimacy, Part 3 With others
Sharing the World 187
Lingering 191
How to Be Ready for Anything 193
When Times Get Rough 196
Salsa Verde 199
Giving and Receiving and Gratefulness 202
Unexpected Gifts from the Kitchen 205
Meal Blessings 208
Love and Time 211
Sautéed Tiny Turnips with Their Greens 213
We're Never the Same 216
Alone, Too 220
Unambitious 222
Bolognese Sauce 223
The Best Way to Learn How to Cook 226
Kitchen Ancestors and Other Influences 229
Hiding Out in the Kitchen 231
On Counting What Is Precious 233
Cooking Together 235
Cake and the Unexpected Guest 238
My Mother's Spice Cake 240
Finding Yourself in the Kitchen with Children 243
Patience with People 245
Terrible, Horrible, No Good Comparisons 247
Taking Refuge 249
Simple Carrot Soup for Tumultuous Times 251
A Final Word on Meditation 253
Afterword 257
A Small Daily Bowl Of Yogurt 259
Acknowledgments 261
Index 265
