Food: The Beating Heart of Your Home

Does the Word “Home” Mean Anything to You?

I have been thinking a lot about the word “home” lately. What it is, how it is made and how it is supposed to feel. But most importantly how it should taste.

For me, the word “home” leaves not only a sweet taste in my mouth, but a savory one. It leaves a taste that lingers, that my body craves. Just the mere mention of the word awakens every taste bud on my tongue.

I have realized that the word “home” is somewhat of a moving target. The word itself does not define a place, but rather is defined by those that occupy the place and how they convert the word into reality. For my family, this is done by way of food.

Food defines who we are, who we want to be and how we want the world to perceive us. Food is so much more than something that you put in your mouth solely for the purpose of fueling your body. Food fuels the soul. Food makes a house a home. Food brings families together and can just as easily tear them apart.

There is so much more to cooking than what meets the eye. When you eat a meal that is prepared by someone other than yourself you are employing trust. And as we all know, trust is the foundation that encourages growth, acceptance and strength.

There was once a time where going out was an event. It was an event that I once craved.

Spending entirely too long selecting just the perfect top to compliment the perfect shoes that go with a new piece of jewelry that simply must be worn because who am I kidding, it totally brings out my eyes. Making an appearance at all of the city’s finest new establishments was my thing. Critiquing the food, judging the wait staff and pretending that I was somebody…ahhh, those were the days. Or were they?

Today I see the value in staying home. Today the word “home” means something to me. Today staying home does not mean eating bland, tasteless piles of mush. It does not mean that I cannot get dressed up and look forward to droll worthy food. Sure staying home translates to comfort, familiarity and security. But who’s to say that we cannot look further outside the box.

Staying home does not have to mean eating Marie Callender’s chicken pot pie. No way. Staying home can so easily translate to more of an experience. Like a pot pie of duck confit, 42 hour veal demi-glaze, rainbow carrots, herb spiked puff pastry and maybe a pickled ramp or two because, why the hell not?

Why not take the plunge, go out on a limb and buy that immersion circulator that your cousin (the Chef) claims to be all the rage? Why not.

You want to know what I think? I think that “staying in” is the new “going out.”

Bring the tools of the trade into your kitchen. Change the backsplash, splurge and get yourself a good knife or two. Why not experiment? Why not get your hands a little dirty? It is these very things that awakens a house, cultivates family and transforms the place to a home.

The word “home” means so much more than a bathroom, kitchen and four walls. Home is where the heart is and food is the beating heart of a home.