The Salve of the Stove

Cooking restores my focus and clarity of mind.  Sometimes I have an overwhelming urge to park myself at the stove in order to clear my head.  I’d like to think that I get this urge from my Grandmother…because I’ve heard that some of her best meals came during the time of greatest stress and heartache. 

Today was such a day for me.  I was overwhelmed by things I couldn’t control and felt small and helpless against the tide of my day.  So, I hunted for a new recipe that connected me to my roots and parked myself in front of the stove for the duration of the afternoon.  I decided that I would make some rosemary grilled chicken thighs served over garlic spinach and parmesan and asiago cheese grits.  It was an updated version of what I could envision my grandmother making.  Maybe her chicken was fried, her greens collard instead of spinach and her grits seasoned with cheddar rather than parmesan…but in my soul, it felt right. 

I marinated the chicken thighs for 5 hours in a mix of garlic, honey, Dijon, and rosemary.  The spinach was a simple pairing of pan roasted garlic and greens.  The grits were equally easy, seasoned with a mix of parmesan and asiago cheeses.  You can find the recipe for the entire meal here:  http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/rosemary-grilled-chicken-thighs-10000001831952/  As a note, I did add some lemon to the garlic spinach, because I felt like the acidity brightened the flavors, and the recipe calls for cheddar instead of asiago, but I was in the mood for a slightly different flavor.  That’s the beautiful thing about recipes….once you know what you’re doing, you can turn them into just about anything you want them to be.

Standing in front of the stove diligently stirring grits, ensuring the perfect balance of texture was a pleasant distraction.  Carefully tending the pan grilled chicken thighs gave me control over something, when everything seemed out of balance.  Adjusting the flavors of the spinach to suit my family’s taste reminded me that this is where I belong, where my center truly is.  Serving my family and my Savior, even when I feel helpless, I’m not.  In reality, I’m anything but…