The Pleasures of Cooking are in the Small Things

What I love about cooking is that it is such a sensory experience.  The smell of the garlic perfuming the kitchen, the sizzle of the onions hitting the pan, the feel of my knife making quick, even slices.  I get such pleasure out of the little things when I'm in the kitchen.

Believe it or not, one of those things is chopping onions.  Since I wear contact lenses, I never cry when I chop onions and strangely enough, is one of the reasons I want to KEEP wearing contacts instead of getting lasik.  I know, I'm strange.  But you see, not crying when I chop onions is part of the reason it is not a chore for me.  It is actually quite soothing and helps me to unwind from a stressful day at work.  And of course, the smell of onions meeting olive oil in a pan is probably one of the best smells there is.  Give me that smell over a vanilla-scented candle ANY DAY!

I was thinking about these small pleasures this morning as I was making breakfast because I looked down at my pan of rendering Spanish chorizo and thought to myself what a beautiful sight it was to behold:

And I'd venture to say that I got more pleasure out of watching that amber-colored fat ooze out of the meat than I did actually eating the finished product of scrambled eggs with chorizo, chives, and gruyere cheese:

Don't get me wrong, the eggs were quite delicious.  But part of what made them so delicious was the memory of watching those small bits of fat emerge onto the pan. 

What small things give you pleasure in the kitchen?