If I asked you to tell me about yourself in a few words, what would say? Maybe you’re a little sarcastic. Or you are super opinionated. A great listener? Or do you go straight to the roles you play - a mom, a CEO, a daughter, a gardener, a writer, etc.

I always find this a tough question because we humans are so multifaceted, complex and ever evolving it’s impossible to describe yourself in a few words, right? And even then it doesn’t even begin to tell me who you are.

We’re all so beautifully different.

And at the same time similar in so many ways. I always think about the end of The Breakfast Club where Brian writes the essay for the whole crew and says,

“We think you're crazy to make us write an essay telling you who we think we are. You see us as you want to see us - in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain...and an athlete...and a basket case.....a princess...and a criminal.”

First, if you have not seen this movie drop everything and do it now!

Second, back to my point (and the lesson of the movie) - being so individual in our experience - in our joy, in our heartbreak, and in even who we think we are. But in the end, we’re all human and are really more alike than we are different. We all go on a journey, experimenting and finding our way to who we really are, not what someone else chooses to believe about us.

What the heck does that have cooking you ask?? Well, let’s expand shall we?

Cooking is so personal. It’s individual to each of us, and we carry so much of our identity with it.

Where you’re from, your upbringing, your memories, who you learned from, what you like, what your life looks like, what you think you should be doing - I could go on but you get it.

It’s another thing in life that’s distinct to each of us, but in the end we all just want to be able to eat things that makes us feel good. To make something that nourishes us and helps us to be present and have the energy to move through this crazy journey that is life.

Not only does cooking give me a place to express who I am, it’s also the place where I can feel completely free to experiment and yes, learn more about myself in the process. Who I am in failure. How I handle challenges. What do I actually like. Where am I disconnected from my body.

It’s also where I get to have multiple personalities depending on my mood. I’m actually becoming more and more like that in my day to day life too but let’s keep it in the context of cooking for now. I get to be:

The natural - cooking really good ingredients in the simplest of ways.

The mad scientist - experimenting with new combinations.

The artist - you know my obsession with edible flowers on a plate.

The magician - transforming ingredients into something completely different and more delicious with a few simple techniques.

The perfectionist - making an excessive amount of tortellini for the freezer and competing with myself to make the perfect one.

The nurturer - cooking for my people (and for myself).

The student - learning from someone who knows more than me.

The teacher - passing on the knowledge.

Fun right? That’s the thing, maybe you haven’t thought about it this way but you’ve likely got all of these kitchen personalities in you too, even if you haven’t explored them yet.

What kind of cook are you? Are there other ones to add? Tell me all of them!

If you’re new here, WELCOME! Before I get to the recipe section let me preface it a little. I love sharing with you things that I’m loving making myself at the moment. My hope of sharing recipes is to give you a little weekly inspiration but also for you to make these work for you and really just use them as a guideline. Don’t be scared to try substituting things or adding something to make it unique to you. Trust yourself and your senses rather than following any recipe exactly as there’s always going to be so many factors that come into play; ingredients, your equipment, etc. Most importantly, have fun and if it doesn’t work out exactly as you hoped, guess what? You learned something and you get to try again tomorrow :) If you have questions, don’t hesitate to shoot me an email or pop a comment down below.

What’s Cooking This Week: Pan Bagnat

This is one of my favourite summer sandwiches. It literally means we bread (which isn’t that appealing so let’s keep with the french pronunciation) which means two things; a good crusty bread is important (if you don’t get a crusty version it’ll fall apart), and this travels well for your next picnic because you actually want to get the bread to soak up some of this delicious vinaigrette. This is essentially the sandwich version of my favourite salad so if you love a good Niçoise (which I’ll share sometime soon), this will be your jam! Sometimes I leave out the eggs and green beans for a quicker sandwich so I’ve noted them both as optional. Try it both ways and see which you like best! You can use tuna in water if you can’t find any packed in olive oil (just add about 4 tbsp of olive oil with the drained tuna) but I highly recommend you make the effort to find it as most good grocery stores carry it now. The flavour and texture is so much better!!

Pan Bagnat

• 1/2 loaf crusty French baguette

• 1 clove garlic, cut in half

• 4 to 6 basil leaves

• 1 (6oz) can tuna in oil, do not drain!

• 3/4 cup Nicoise olives, pitted and chopped

• 1/2 cup roasted red pepper, diced

• 1/2 small red onion, finely chopped

• 1/4 cup Italian flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

• 1 jar or can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped - I like the grilled ones in oil

• 1/4 cup blanched French green beans, sliced into thirds (optional)

• 2 hard boiled eggs, chopped (optional)

• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

• 1 tsp lemon zest

• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

PREP THE BREAD: Slice the bread in half lengthwise. Remove some of the insides of the bottom half to create a little divot into which the filling will go. Brush both halves with a little extra virgin olive oil. Rub each with the garlic. Line the half with the divot with basil leaves.

MIX THE SALAD: In a mixing bowl, combine the tuna with the oil, olives, red pepper, onion, parsley, artichoke hearts, lemon zest, lemon juice, eggs (if using) and green beans (if using). Season to taste with salt and pepper.

ASSEMBLE: Spoon tuna mixture into the trough of the baguette over the basil leaves. Wrap sandwich well in foil or plastic. Refrigerate for at least a couple of hours or overnight.

SERVE: Unwrap the sandwich and cut in half. Serve with fruit or really good potato chips.

*you can easily double the recipe and if you have extra salad filling it’s great wrapped in lettuce leaves, spread on crackers or who am I kidding, just eaten straight from the bowl.*

WHAT’S COMING NEXT WEEK…….

We’re going to the market! I’m sharing all my favourite things about Farmer’s Market season plus some essentials to making the best of them when it comes to your summer cooking. I want your questions!! Shoot me a message with anything you want to know when it comes to navigating your local market and I’ll do my best to include the answers.

Want more with me? 

Ready to learn the pleasure and the principles of cooking well? Let’s Cook with Intention

Sourdough 101 - master the magic of sourdough bread - this is the place if you want to learn all things sourdough AND you can even learn to make your own baguettes :)

Happy Cooking :) 

love,

Krista  

Nourished & Whole
Eat well. Live well. Cook often.
www.nourishedandwhole.com