Mistress of Spices

I love to cook. I feel more at home in the kitchen then I do anywhere else in my house. Traditionally the kitchen was the centre of all activity in the home and it often had the most designated space. Recently I had a spice party at my home. I have a wonderful client who sells the product and we had a wonderful time with family and friends discussing the various applications of the many spices. The range of ages was pretty amazing; from late fifties to teen aged women. As I sat there I looked around and if you had removed the modern trappings of our meeting we could have been any group of women at any stage of history. We could have been the earliest women discussing the best way to disguise the gamey flavour of a brontosaurus, or pioneer women exchanging seeds and recipes for their future homes. I felt like I was a part of a tangible thread of wonderful homemaking women passing their knowledge through the ages.
Granted this may be a little too much introspection for a simple spice party, but I just loved being surrounded by women with a similar purpose and suddenly I understood why women can be such a comfort to one another. We not only lift up others that are struggling, but we have the capacity, as well as the ability, to teach other women so that they do not need to feel inadequate for long.
I think the best thing was being able to sit next to my mother, a women that I admire above all others, and be able to discuss the spices as equals. I was able to share my knowledge of some spices and she was able to tell me about what she knew. Maybe I will have the opportunity to do this with my daughter some day.