The (other) thing I would do for free

This apple pie, topped with a crumbly granola topping,
is one of the recipes  I'm  using in a pie class next month
at Your Kitchen Store in Keene.

You may have heard this before: When we are trying to figure out a career, we should try and find something to do that we would do for free. The idea is that it will never feel like work.
After losing my job as a columnist earlier this year, I had to figure out what it was that I would do for free. But, truthfully, my job as a columnist was that thing. It was a little challenging to figure out something else ... other than sleep. I love to sleep; I'd do that for free. But I imagine it would be hard to make a living at it.
As it turns out, there is something else I would do for free: teach people to cook. Last fall, I had an opportunity to teach a few classes through the Keene Community Education program. I offered a course titled "Cooking for Scaredy Cats," designed for people who lacked confidence in the kitchen. We made appetizers, entrees and desserts. After those three classes, I was invited to teach a few more. And then last spring, the folks at Your Kitchen Store in Keene, asked me to teach a few classes there.
I'm a social person. And I'm not a shy person. And I love cooking and being in the kitchen. But mostly, I like to share that passion with others. For me, cooking is the easiest thing in the world. For others, it's a struggle. I like having the opportunity to bridge that gap.
I remember hearing a long time ago that if you can read, you can cook. I don't really believe that. I believe cooking requires a certain rhythm in the kitchen which is born of confidence. Gathering people together to share recipes, techniques and shortcuts is a way of boosting that confidence. And during the class, we always sample the food we are making. This "breaking bread" ritual is bonding for all of us; once you've shared food with someone, you have a connection.
In the next few months I'm teaching classes about pie making, using pumpkin in cooking, holiday gifts from the kitchen and several others. I am honored that so many folks want to come out and spend an evening in the kitchen with me. It is always fun. And I always learn something. I've made new friends, made a few mistakes here and there and had many of those lovely moments where strangers become friends through food and fellowship.
Today, I don't call this the thing I'd do for free anymore. Now I have a different (albeit cliched) name for it: following my bliss.

Okay, so maybe I'm a little obsessive about this ...

Nirvana!
 

Farm stand after farm stand, I heard two things: "No, not yet ... " or "Oh, we don't have that ..." Silver Queen corn was what I sought. It's white corn ... and it's harvested late in the summer. One friend said that's because they save the best for last.Silver Queen isn't always the sweetest corn and the kernels aren't the most plump. But to me, it's the most flavorful. And each year I go through the challenge of finding a stash of it before it's too late. My search reminds me of trying to swim in the ocean in New Hampshire in the summer. There's a very short span of time when you can actually swim without seeing ice cubes floating by. It's as if there is one day in mid-August, between the hours of 1 and 3 p.m. when everything lines up to make that swim tolerable. But if you attempt that same swim the very next day, your limbs will go numb and fall off.
Last year, I went out to find Silver Queen and heard several times "It's too early. Next week." But then the following week, they were all out.
Blink and you miss it.
Well this year, I swam in the ocean in New Hampshire (and I still have all of my limbs intact) and I found Silver Queen corn.


At last ...

I went to three farm stands to find it, a total of about six visits before I found the corn. And when I finally saw it, sitting in the corner of a farm stand in Harvard, Mass., I'm pretty sure I saw a light shining down from above and heard the angels singing.
I bought 18 ears of corn. We had some for dinner that night. I made corn chowder salad the next night (bacon, potatoes, red bell pepper, onion) and put the rest in the freezer ... sliced off of the cob, blanched and packed in freezer bags.
 I'm a very happy girl.