Welcome to my kitchen!

     The kitchen has always been the heart of any home I've lived in, whether my parents' house, a house shared with friends or my own home. A kitchen is a place of nourishment, education, discussion, frustration, small messes and large disasters. It brings a family together and scatters them when Mama says "OUT!". Injuries are tended to and broken hearts are healed. It is my favorite place to be, the one room in the house that I can still claim as my territory with very few invaders allowed. I do enjoy sharing my creations with people but realized I've been going about it wrong. I have simply been sharing the recipes and telling people the how-to of what I make, when really what I need to be sharing is the whole experience of cooking. So what I'm doing here is inviting you all to come in and "set a spell" and visit with me while I cook. 
    The name I chose for this blog is a reflection of my general life philosophy : Karma :what goes around comes around, put good in, get good out, etc. What you do affects everyone and everything around you. Basically, if you send positive energy, thoughts and actions out into the universe you will receive the same positive energy, thoughts and actions back. Maybe not in the same form and maybe not soon, but it will come back. Here's the catch : the same goes for negative energy, thoughts and actions. My kitchen is kind of a middle ground for karma. I can go into the kitchen in a great mood, bounce around and make a fabulous batch of cookies to give to a friend who is down in the dumps. I can also go in the kitchen so mad I could breath fire and crush small villages, start tenderizing some meat or kneading some bread dough and work out all that negative energy before I release it into the universe. However the danger to that is if I try to cook the wrong thing when I'm aggravated it ruins the food. Whatever I was trying to cook will burn, or not taste right or the lid will come off of the salt shaker and my "pinch of salt" will ruin the soup. So, when you enter the kitchen to cook something (not just warm it up in the microwave), be aware of what your karma vibes are. Are you feeling light and happy, optimistic and focused? Anything you make will come out to it's best potential! Are you distracted by thoughts and/or outside influences? Be cautious and follow the recipe exactly. If you angry and tense, down in the dumps or worried you need to be aware of it and choose carefully what to make. Actions that use a lot of physical energy like tenderizing meat, kneading bread dough, whipping egg whites into meringue or chopping vegetables are good ways to disperse negative energy. Then, when you are calm and focused again, you can move on to the next item on your menu.
   Thank you for taking time to read this and I hope what I share here can be of use to you. Let me know if there is a specific dish you'd like me to try to make. I will warn you - if you request it, you may be asked to be present for the preparation and eating of it also! Have a great day and remember to keep your karma happy!