Susan Sontag (one of my favorite, if not my favorite author of all time) once stated that “attention is vitality.” While reading a mesmerizing biography titled, Sontag: Her Life and Work, by Benjamin Moser, I noticed that during Sontag’s extensive travels, she often spent hours in restaurants, trying food most tourists probably wouldn’t touch.
I don’t think we all have to travel across the globe to learn from Sontag’s appreciation for food. In a world where big tech companies have spent billions of dollars to commodify our attention spans, her words remain more relevant than ever.
Preparing food is one of the ways I can maintain my attention. Cooking and baking require deliberation, waiting, and attention, and can serve as an act of resistance in our Huxley-esque world of constant noise and distraction.
This Christmas recipe reminds me of the importance of introspection and applying this to our reading of Scripture and our worship. Engaging in acts of deliberate slowness in our fast-paced world aligns with one of our pillars as Seventh-day Adventists, Sabbath rest.
With that being said, here is one of my favorite recipes to bake.
Focaccia Bread
Ingredients:
- 4 cups of all purpose flour
- As much rosemary and olive oil as you deem necessary
- 2 ½ cups of warm water
- 2 teaspoons of salt
Instructions:
Step 1: Combine all ingredients in a bowl and knead for about five minutes.
Step 2: Please in the fridge to rise for 24-48 hours.
Step 3: Bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes.
Aryssa Singh is a multi-passionate high school senior with interests in philosophy, literary criticism, neuroscience, and journalism. In her free time she likes to read, watch arthouse and classic films, and scrapbook.