Sacred Table
The Pot That Feeds You
To cook one unhurried pot of something with your hands, and let the kitchen be a place you are cared for rather than a place you perform.
- Best time
- A day with a free afternoon or evening
- Estimated duration
- 90 minutes
- Pathway
- spirit
What you'll need
- One pot dish you know by heart — greens, beans, a stew, a soup, rice and whatever is in the house
- A pot or skillet you like the weight of
- Music, low, from a time in your life you are fond of
- Something to drink while you cook
The practice
- Step 1. Choose a dish you can make without looking anything up. Familiarity is the whole point.
- Step 2. Clear the counter and put the music on before you start.
- Step 3. Wash and cut everything first. Let the chopping be slow and even.
- Step 4. While it cooks, do not leave the kitchen to be productive elsewhere. Stand with the pot. Stir it more than you need to.
- Step 5. Taste as you go, and season to your own mouth — not to what anyone else would want.
- Step 6. When it is done, serve yourself first. A full plate, on a real plate, sitting down.
- Step 7. Put the rest away in portions for the week. That is you, feeding you, three days from now.
Atira's reflection
Atira's personal practice: I cook the things I was raised on, and I cook them for myself first. Feeding yourself is not a lesser act than feeding a house full of people.
Atira's original content — placeholder text pending her final wording.
Safety considerations
- Follow ordinary kitchen safety: keep raw meat separate, cook to safe temperatures, and refrigerate leftovers within two hours.
- No ingredient here is offered for any health benefit, and nothing in this practice treats or prevents illness.
- Honor your own allergies and any eating plan your qualified professional has given you.