The Spoon is an Underrated Utensil

I have almost stopped using my fork entirely. There are a few exceptions like steak which should always be stabbed with a sharp utensil. But this summer I have been using a spoon to eat a lot of meals in order to relish the mixed flavors and scoop up the juice of each dish.

Tonight I sauteed some tomatoes, shrimp and basil in salt and olive oil (no leftovers!) and it created a sweet and savory suace. A few weeks ago it was Chicken with Apple, Onion and Cider Sauce – thank you Food Network’s “Great Easy Meals” cookbook. Using a spoon makes me eat slower and think about the different flavors I am putting in my mouth and truly enjoy the meal I created instead of just piling food on a fork and shoveling it in my stomach.

A caveat to keep the French side of my family from getting upset – I love to use a fresh baguette to sop up the au jus as much (if not a thousand times more) than the next gal. But in addition to a love of food and wine they gave me my mother’s thighs so baguette is a special occasion.