The Kitchen Goddess Manifesto

    Do not cook if you are in a bad mood, lack the desire, or feel pressure from nagging obligation to another.  Wise woman Brenda Ueland once said, "Do not do anything you don't want to do."  Frame this mantra and hang it where you'll read it everyday.  And remember--you can always go out, take out, or entice someone else to "put out."

    Keep your life full of the freshest ingredients and at least once a week explore something completely new: A new recipe...a new book...an unfamiliar song...a new quote for your journal...dance outdoors...take a walk somewhere you have never been before...kiss a baby...write to someone you admire and include a favourite recipe...talk to someone who doesn't speak your language...

    Delighten up and play with your cooking!  Read the recipe--close the book--then have fun!  The more you play, the more you do what you love to do, the more you reconnect with your talents and power.

    Always sit down when you eat; share most of your meals if you can.

    Customize your creations and spice them with your own unique hallmark of delicious mystery.  As the saying goes, "Don't be the best at what you do; be the only one who does what you do."

    Take a deep breath and bless your kitchen before you cook; clean up all rampant clutter, light a candle, open a window, turn on music.  When in the mood, pour your favourite drink, be it wine, water, whiskey, or an ice-cold root beer in a frosted mug.

    When recipes are given to you, save the original in the handwriting of the person who shared the recipe; their energy and intent will be immortalized every time you see their writing.  Create a beautiful binder of recipes in sheet protectors.  If you want to frolic and improvise, rewrite your new recipe on a page next to the original.

    Never, ever think that food will make you fat!  Delete the words "fat-free" and "sugar-free" from your culinary vocabulary and replace them with "fear-free," "guilt-free," and "feel free! "

    Always carry a nicely printed, personal best trademark trading recipe with  you wherever you go.  Whenever you taste something that sparks your spirit and your taste buds, ask for the recipe.  Trade, beg, or borrow--but get it.

    Trust yourself.  Add your own ingredients to this list.