The Kitchen: The Host (Interlude 2)

This episode is a recap, grounding, and look forward while recognizing the change that has been a fruit of this podcasting process. In this episode, the host (that’s me) speaks. 

I am still scared to share my thoughts in this public venue! Here, I do so anyway. I can hear the anxiety in my voice a bit. Ina Garten says:

“I think people stand at the edge of the pond talking about the pond. Is it hot? Is it cold? Is it deep? Are there murky things in there? I think you have to jump in.” Vanity Fair, 2017

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Episode artwork by Lex MB Studio. Order a Trust the Process sticker (this week’s cover art) from her website or join her Patreon for yet-to-be-released stickers! You won’t regret it. 

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Recommended podcast pairings:

Hard boiled egg

Toasted multi-grain bagel with Philadelphia whipped mixed berry cream cheese

A large strawberry

Aged earl grey tea

A glass of cold water

RIDIN - Jessie Reyez feat Lil Wayne (explicit)

Jasmine essential oil

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

When I was a kid, I collected stickers, stamps, coins, and books. Now my childhood pleasures continue through a sticker of the month club from Lex MB Studio. Each month, a physical sticker of one of her new digital illustrations arrives in my mailbox. The artwork for this episode showed up a few months back in sticker form, and it's one of my favorites. Check out the show notes to learn more about Lex MB Studio and subscribe to their Patreon so you too can experience the joys of a sticker club. Hi, this is home, and this is the second interlude where I talk about how things are going. I just finished recording three episodes, the prior episodes with family, where I learned about both my grandma's kitchens and then about my great grandma's kitchen. And that process was great. And I wrapped it up just before at the end of winter, before the spring equinox. And now this is the in-between episode before we dive into four episodes with people who I'm not related to. And with them, I'm going to ask some questions I've been wondering about through the podcast. And then also I think focus on um what it means to have a joyful connective kitchen, which is what I want for myself and everyone. And I also care less about whether I do that. So I think that a little bit of the judgment I was putting on myself has been released in this process, and I don't feel so alone in the kitchen anymore. Like I can feel my um ancestors' presence a bit more in the kitchen after learning all the things that I did. So I'm really thankful for that. I reviewed my notebook from the pod, and I'll just share a few things and then end with some new thoughts I have about the kitchen. They're different than they were before. But um, I'll just read these things to you. I'm charting my own course in the kitchen with the help of those that came before me. In a conversation with my aunt after her episode, I learned that my grandpa, my dad's dad, loved recording things, which I did not know. And he would record my dad and aunts playing games. So I liked learning that because I like to record too. And I think I just learned about like how small daily routines are beautiful, and I heard about all the um connection and family ties that happened in my family's kitchens in the past. Your kitchen can be whatever you want it to be, and you can choose, some people can choose who's in their kitchen and what it's like. And then what are the roles I've been told to play and which do I actually want to enact? I did find some of the interviews with my relatives kind of intense and disorienting, but then healing too. And the podcast is just kind of healing and connected for me and my family. For me, I don't know, my family thinks, and I'm making it for um, you know, the kids that come after. And now I want to talk to people who love their kitchens. And I think from my um my maternal aunt, I just learned that about making my kitchen a space where your kids want to be, which I want to keep working on, and that being in the kitchen can be enjoyable. So finally, let me read. One of the things that I like the most is when I notice that my thoughts about things are changing. I love that. I'm I just think it's so crazy and amazing that that can happen. So in doing this podcast, I'm noticing my thoughts about the kitchen changing. So I'll to end this episode, I'll read you some of the new thoughts I have that have come up. You know, it's like they come up once and you're like, wow, that's cool. It's like it's they maybe they won't come. I mean, I think they'll keep coming up a bit, but they're things that need to be kind of nurtured, I guess. Alright, here we go. I'm feeding myself. I care about myself and want to eat good food. I'm choosing to be in the kitchen. I can leave if I want and go out to eat. I can be present and do this meal however I want. There are no rules. I am reclaiming and transforming myself in this space. I extend my deep gratitude to everyone who worked to change it so that women can be met in many places, not just the kitchen. That's all for this interlude. Thanks for listening. It is Tuesday, March 24th, 2026.