So I'm making Nigella Lawson's masoor dal recipe (delicious red lentils!) right now and I've been thinking about coconut chutney ALL FRIGGIN' DAY (thank you, Ovarit...lol), and it occurs to me that a Cooking Circle would be a really fun thing to have here.

I know new Circles are not being added just now, so I'm more writing this out as a mental placeholder to myself for the future.

I envision this as far more than a recipe-swap (but I want that too!). Home-cooking is historically considered women's work, and there are so many fascinating scholarly articles out there about women and cooking.

In some ways, I think feeding one's family and/or community can be a feminist act -- the ones who cook are generally responsible for sourcing the food to be cooked, and there are definitely some interesting issues that arise when viewing new facets of one's life and/or domestic responsibilities through a feminist lens.

I LOVE to cook -- as in, I truly & deeply enjoy it. It brings me great pleasure to make a delicious meal for friends and family.

Consequently, the labor division in my household may not look like the most feminist arrangement from the outside. My partner does the majority of cleanup, and I do the majority of the cooking because it is one type of domestic labor I genuinely love.

I know many women see cooking as a chore or a burden, however, and I think it would be interesting to explore that as well.

The cultural history of cooking and food in general can be quite fascinating, so I think this Circle could be an interesting way to interrogate ideas about domestic labor, but it could also function as a resource for those who love cooking, are new to cooking, or want some guidance on cooking-related topics.

OK, back to my onions!