Themed Playlist 1.0

My Jazz: Dinner time playlist.

I started this playlist about a year or so ago. I’ve gotten really immersed in food and cooking over the past couple of years and one night while making most likely some kind of pasta I found myself slightly bored and in need of something to enhance my experience. I had gotten in the habit of watching YouTube or some other kind of TV while cooking and that night I decided I didn’t need to do that. In an era of constant media consumption and stimulation I put my foot down and decided that I can focus on one task at a time and enjoy the process of what I’m doing. I can practice mindfulness and be in tune with what I’m doing rather than needing the over-stimulation of Love Island on the TV, a TikTok playing on my phone, and a crowded kitchen surrounding me. To help my mind focus, I decided to turn on some music. Now this might contradict my point, but music has been proven in many ways to help with focus and memory, so I figured if I was going to allow myself to have anything going in the background it would be that. Just what kind of music though?

I truly don’t remember how I landed on jazz. I think I turned on a lofi mix and a jazz song probably came on the shuffle and my curiosity grew from there. Or maybe I chose to play a song like Beyond the Sea by Bobby Darin and went from there. Again, I don’t exactly remember, but either way, jazz felt like the perfect thing to play while sauteing mushrooms, caramelizing onions, stirring pasta sauce, flipping chicken thighs to see crispy, golden skin from the cook of the cast iron. Add a glass of wine in the mix, some soft lighting and, in my case, an adorable cat sous chef, and you can truly soak up the experience of creating something in the kitchen. And creating something in the kitchen especially is a worthwhile experience. To appreciate nourishing the body, knowing what you’re putting in your body is a beautiful thing.