Different people have different ways of relaxing. Some people get all the need from sitting down with a good book. Some people find a class of good wine does the trick. Other though, require more active relaxation. Like some kind of physical activity or sport. Jogging is affirmed favorite especially with many business executives. Another favorite is tennis, or squash, or the ever popular game of golf.

In many, particularly eastern countries, meditation, in some of its many forms is very popular for relaxation. Often different kinds of beans are used to assist in relieving stress. Indeed, traditional Roman Catholics use rosary beads, though this is mainly about praying. No doubt it is also relaxing. My grandmother frequently told me, when I was a child, that her two knife sets were what relaxed her.

How could two sets of knives relieve stress? Well, it’s quite simple really. You see, my grandmother, Grandma Ellen, spend most of each day in the kitchen. When I was young, I assumed that was where all grandmothers spent their days.

Perhaps, many of them did. But mine was addicted to cooking and baking. In one corner of her kitchen, at the furthest end away from the cooker, she had a not insubstantial freestanding bookshelf. It was a considerable, personal, library for her alone. It was stuffed with every conceivable kind of cook book. Some where so old, that I imagine she got them when she was not much more than a teenager.

Every day she tried out new recipes. Of course this was greatly appreciated by all the other members of the family who happen to be in the house. She once told me that a knife set and a cookbook where heavenly creations. Again, when I was a kid, I had no idea what she was talking about.

I have inherited, not only my grandmother’s love of food, but also her obsession with cooking. I can’t say I inherited her obsession with knives, but there is no doubt that they are amongst the most important implements in any kitchen. Not only that but I have three or four I am never without while cooking.

Finding the best way to relax in the kitchen for me is the act of preparing food itself. That plus the one other gadget, or appliance is probably the more correct word. It relaxes me more than any other device. I’m talking about the countertop microwave. I can’t say that it’s the cooker I use most for my favorite dishes. But it’s what I do use to heat up my mug of coffee, or sometimes tea. And occasionally, especially if I am on my own, I will heat up one of my special home-made, frozen spaghetti Bolognese sauces and indulge myself.