Let me start by saying I never thought I would be ‘old-fashioned’ at such a young age. I read the newspaper, if only on Sundays. No, I mean the actual, printed newspaper. I love it. I devour it. My favorite Sunday mornings involve spreading out the entire paper, and reading every section. (Ok, sometimes, I skip the Sports Section!) I hope they never stop ‘printing’ a paper. It’s ironic, I know, that I profess my love for the printed word document on my BLOG. Well, the New York Times isn’t yet accepting my work so I will work with what I have.
The opinions that caught my eye and held my interest were addressing an articlef rom the week before. Verlyn Klinkenborg the lost art of reading aloud the written word. I must confess this is exactly what I have been trying to stress to my students. We read through recipes in every class that tell us how we will make each recipe come to life. The angst of my students, the complaints and discomfort they express are generally met with my firm stance that the reading must be accomplished in order to move forward.
In a world of IPODs, Kindles, books on tape and (yes, I’m sorry, I must) the internet when do any of us in the course of our day read ANYTHING out loud? If our children aren’t given the opportunity to hear words read aloud, it makes it difficult to believe they may be able to read them aloud on their own. In the age of all things electronic, and technology that moves faster each time we blink, this is one tradition that can be preserved with a little extra time and effort.
Think about this the next time you cook- don’t be afraid to read your recipe aloud if only to your Kitchen Aid mixer or your preheating oven. Listen to the words, the language and let the rhythm carry over into the rhythm of your work. Take it from me, I grew up with a mother who still reads to me. It’s not merely the text, the language or subject, but the sound of her voice that I will carry with me no matter where I travel, what I read or how much I cook. It all starts with words.
Cook. Eat. Write. 