Lighting the Hearth

(originally posted 01/04/2012)

This year begins for me, full of promise and hope and this blog is part of that beginning.  And in talking about beginnings I want to discuss the Kitchen Hearth.  In the past, it was the epicenter of the home, used to prepare nourishing meals, give warmth to those surrounding it, and provide clarity and light in the darkness.  Our personal hearth-fires are just as important.  Much in the same way, we tend the flames of our personal ambitions, those qualities or accomplishments we reach for, the same way we press our cold hands into the warm air surrounding a wood stove.  It's time to rekindle the hearth fire, the soul of our homes and of our lives.  It's the time for starting anew, sweeping the ashes out from the past days we've weathered, and piling our wishes and aspirations onto one another like the wood in a fireplace, creating a towering promise to ourselves. These things mean something to us, and sometimes, they mean the most to us. We ignite these with expectations and sometimes with naivety, but the greatest successes and worst failures both burn brightly and leave impressions on our futures. 
The Gathering Block is a pillar of my passions, interests, and even undiscovered ideas that I want to share with the rest of you.  It is my fire and it has just begun to burn.

Let me preface the rest of this blog with a few key points: 

• I am not a professional chef.  I'm simply someone with a knack for cooking, and who respects the ritual of it and the ways it can affect the ones you invite to the table.
• The intention is to create a community of ideas surrounding the kitchen and culinary arts. I invite feedback and ideas and will likely invite you all to share in future posts. 
• The Gathering Block is a focal point (literally and figuratively), the area around which the energy in a kitchen circulates, Great things are born from this platform, not just hearty meals, but bonds between family and friends in the most basic form of communion, and the "breaking of bread".
• These articles, recipes, and flowing thoughts are to serve as inspirations to others, and I encourage you to draw on these words and apply them to your own cooking routine.
• Let credit be given where credit is due.  If certain photos videos or recipes on here are not of my own making I will be sure to accredit the proper person(s).  Please have the same respect of others work and follow standard internet etiquette.

So here we start our sojourn together.  I hope to provide a foundation for us all to come together and share in one of the simplest yet most satisfying traditions found all over.  The gathering of a community and the sharing of a meal.  Cheers!

-The Gathering Block