Memories and losses

This week ended up being one of many losses. I lost a friend to cancer, and we lost the family cottage to a forest fire. As my mind has tried to make senses of losses, and the irony that life will never slow down enough to not make you dizzy, i’ve started to realize that so many memories that i’ve had during times of loss have to do with food.
My friend taught me two very important cooking lessons. The first being that brussels sprouts are best with bacon, something i had never tried before cooking with her, and secondly, that maple syrup is amazing with any root vegetable. Those of you who are like me and cook frequently will understand this – we use to cook together, and not bump into each other even though we would be sharing a sink, stove, and cutting surfaces. I’ll miss having help during holiday meals (or having help that i don’t need to kick out of the kitchen after narrowly missing an accidental spill or stabbing).
Oh the cottage, the memories of growing up, and so many firsts. I made my first jam there, i learned that pie crust isn’t the same if you don’t use lard, and i learned one of those life lessons that you can only learn in the woods – if you slowly smoke ribs for 8 hours, a bear will steal your bbq that night and drag it far far into the woods.
Although i sit trying to make sense of things and say good-bye to those things i realize that there are things that i will never lose, and never forget each time i stay in my kitchen and recreate things that i would have never learned had it not been for those people and places.