厨房里学到的10个人生哲理

A chef and a food writer finds strength, insight, and comfort in such simple acts as sharing a cupcake.

本文的作者既是一位主厨，也是一位美食作家，在诸如与别人分享蛋糕这类简单的小事情中找到了生活的力量、顿悟了人生的哲理、享受到了生活的乐趣。

by Kim O’Donnel

作者金?奥唐纳

Here's what I've learned from my hours in the kitchen.  

以下就是我在厨房里学到的10个人生哲理。

1.  Small gestures can make a big difference. The day after the Virginia Tech shootings, in April 2007, when my community in northern Virginia was shaken with grief, I found myself baking a batch of lemon cupcakes with milk-chocolate frosting. As I admired their glistening tops, I couldn’t help but wonder: Could a tiny cupcake make the world feel like a more tender place, even for one bite? As I delivered the cupcakes to my neighbors, the smiles on their faces were proof that, yes, indeed it could.

1. 小举动往往会产生很大的不同。2007年4月，在佛吉尼亚理工学院枪击事件反生后的一天，北佛吉尼亚社区的人们都沉浸在巨大的悲痛之中，而当时我正在用牛奶巧克力霜做一块柠檬蛋糕。我很尊重他们的情感，并且禁不住在想：一小块蛋糕，哪怕只是咬上一口，能够让人们觉得这个世界更加地温暖、情义浓浓吗？当我将蛋糕送给邻居品尝的时候，他们脸上的微笑向我证明，一个小小的举动的确能温暖人心。

2.  Cheap thrills are closer than you think. In this BlackBerry-crazed world, growing your own food, even just a little herb garden, can help you appreciate the present moment: the sweet delight of that first cherry tomato, the heady perfume of fresh mint. During the holidays, I am always thankful for that backyard rosemary when I pluck it from the bush and add it to apple pies, roasted meats, and white-bean bruschetta.

2. 生活中廉价惊喜处处可见。在这个电子产业疯狂发展的世界，亲手种植食物，即使仅仅只是种植一个香草花园，都足以使你享受此刻的时光：体验第一次收获樱桃番茄时的甜蜜喜悦心情，新鲜薄荷的浓郁香气。假日里，当我在灌木丛中摘下迷迭香时，当我在苹果馅饼中、烤肉中及白色菜豆烤面包片中放上它们时，我总是对后院的迷迭香充满感激之情。

3.  Control is overrated. When my fiancé and his stuff moved into my one-bedroom apartment, I was OK with the books and the CDs, the quirky framed prints, and even the oddball knickknacks he squeezed onto my already crowded shelves. But when it came to my kitchen, nothing was allowed to disrupt the order and flow. So when, a few weeks before we were married, he bought a knife without consulting me, I nearly had a stroke. Of course, my response symbolized my many years as a single woman who had only herself to consider. If I was going to let him into my life, I quickly realized, I had to let him into my kitchen, too.

3. 不应过分控制。当未婚夫及他的全部家当一起搬入我那只有一间卧室的公寓时，他的书和CD、加了奇特外框的相片甚至那些稀奇古怪的小玩意儿塞满了我那本来就很拥挤的书架上，那个时候我倒没觉得有什么。但是如果这些东西出现在厨房里，那么就必须摆放地井井有条，不能破坏厨房的“秩序”。所以在我们结婚前几个星期，当他没有问我就带回一把刀的时候，我当时差点被气得中风。当然，我的反应正说明这么些年来我一直都是单身居住，从来都只是考虑自己。我突然意识到，如果我想要让未婚夫进入我的生活，那么也就得让他进入我的厨房。

4.  Sing if you must, but quit thinking so much. Despite my culinary training, I couldn’t make a pizza dough to save my life. It was either too tough, too doughy, or riddled with holes. Then a friend visiting from Australia, who loved to sing while he cooked pizza, showed me the error of my ways: In my stressed-out quest to make it perfect, I was overkneading the dough. When I stopped fussing over it, I got it right.

4. 如果必须，那就歌唱吧，但是不要想得太多。尽管我接受过烹饪这方面的专业培训，但是我还是做不出一块像样的披萨饼来填饱肚子。要么太硬，要么太软，或者是上面有好多洞。一次，一位来自澳大利亚的朋友来我家做客。他喜欢一边做披萨，一边唱歌。他给我指出了披萨做法上的错误之处：在力求完美的心情驱使下，我将面团烤糊了。当我放松心情，不再有任何压力时，我做出了真正好吃的披萨饼。

5.  There are always second chances. A dear friend of mine died suddenly of a heart attack in early 2007. For months I had intended to cook for him, and now it was too late. Or was it? In tribute, I baked him a marble cake and took it to his funeral, where his friends and loved ones stayed behind to eat it and exchange stories about this wonderful man.

5. 总会有机会的。我的一位密友于2007年年初因突发心脏病去世。好几个月之前，我就打算做好吃的给他，但是现在已经太晚了。真的是那样吗？我做了一个刻有大理石花纹的蛋糕作为祭品并带到了他的葬礼上，他的亲朋好友留下来吃了那块蛋糕，一起分享了这位杰出男人的故事。

6.  Substance beats style every time. You might think a trained chef has a gleaming kitchen filled with expensive appliances. Well, I spent the past four years in an apartment with a kitchen so lilliputian that even making room for a toaster was out of the question. My husband, who found bread crisped in the oven an unworthy substitute for the real stuff, pleaded for mercy. So I bought a $3 collapsible tin toaster from a camping store. Not only did it take up hardly any space but it also toasted bread to crunchy perfection.

6. 实质和表象总是有冲突。你也许认为一个受过专业培训的主厨会拥有一个漂亮的厨房，里面摆满了昂贵的厨具。但是过去的四年中，我都是在公寓里一间小小的厨房里度过的，那里面小得连放个烤面包机都成问题。老公发现面包在烤箱里成了碎片，而不是烤成真正的面包时，就发了慈悲。因而我才用3美元在野营器械商店买了一个折叠式锡制烤面包机。买它不仅仅是因为它几乎不占地方，而且因为它可以将面包烤得十分酥脆可口。

7.  We all have what it takes to create something. The legendary cookbook author Edward Espe Brown taught me a lot about the creative aspects of preparing food―how the sheer physical act of it is an artistic expression, like painting or dancing. Now, that might sound a bit lofty when you’re racing to get dinner on the table. But if you think of cooking as creating something, even when you’re making the most basic meal, you might get more enjoyment out of your time in the kitchen―where we all possess some creative ability, however great or small.

7. 我们每个人都有创造力可挖掘。充满传奇色彩的食谱作家爱德华?埃斯佩?布朗（Edward Espe Brown）教会我很多在准备食物时发挥创造性的方法——如何将这种完全的肢体动作变成一种艺术表现形式，像绘画或舞蹈那样。现如今，似乎快速准备好饭菜成为衡量高级饭店的标准。但是如果即使在做普通的家常便饭市都将烹饪看成是一种创造，那么你在厨房里将会得到更多的乐趣——在那里，我们每个人都拥有或大或小的创造力。

8.  Communicate, any way you can. Two years ago, we weren’t sure my kid brother was going to live. He is fine today, but back then, powerless to help him, I placed his photo on the kitchen counter and taught him aloud how to make meat sauce, step-by-step, as if he were next to me. Although the conversation was one-sided, having his smiling face staring up from that photo as I stirred the sauce helped me through one of the most difficult experiences of my life.

8. 尽量与人沟通，任何方式都可行。两年前，我们家里人都不曾想过弟弟会离开人世。他时好时坏，家人无力帮助他。我把他的照片摆在厨房台面上，教他如何制作肉酱，一步一步地教，就好像他就在我身边一样。尽管这样的沟通只是单方面的，但是一边搅动肉酱，一边看着照片上他的笑脸，伴我走过了人生中最艰难的时刻。

9.  Your instinct may not be the best, but it’s yours. A fearsome chef-instructor at a cooking school in Italy once gave an assignment to me and my classmate Max to make risotto for lunch. While I stirred, chef Sergio sternly reminded us to add salt before serving. “How much?” we asked. “Enough,” he replied and walked away. We felt lost, but lunch was imminent, so we took turns salting and tasting until we both agreed it was just right―then high-fived to our accomplishment. Did chef Sergio like it? No. But then his food was always too salty for my taste.

9. 你的天性或许不是最好的，但那真正是你自己的本性。曾经烹饪学校一位来自意大利的令人生畏的主厨讲师给我及同班同学马克斯布置了一次作业，那就是午餐做意大利调味饭。当我搅拌调味饭的时候，主厨塞尔吉奥严正顶住我们一定要在上餐前加盐。“加多少？”我们问道。“刚刚好就行。”他回答后就走开了。我们感觉一片茫然，但是午餐时间马上就要到了，因此我们轮流着加盐品尝直到两个人都觉得味道刚刚好——然后就击掌庆祝成功了。主厨塞尔吉奥喜欢这个味道吗？不喜欢。但那是因为他吃盐要比我重。

10.  Less really is more. Exhibit A: the grilled cheese sandwich. If I cooked my last meal over a skillet, ironing two pieces of Cheddar-stuffed bread together with some strong mustard, I would be smiling wide.

10. 即使少加一点东西，也确实已经很多了。一号展品：烤好的奶酪三明治。要是我用平底锅做最后一次餐饭，而没有用两片塞满切达奶酪的面包外加一些刺鼻的芥末时，那我肯定会开口大笑的。