Let's face it - for those of us who can't afford a personal chef or daily visits to restaurants, cooking is necessary for survival. And I'll confess there are days when it seems grossly unfair that a tired, stressed, and seriously overscheduled person like myself must labor to produce a nourishing dinner on top of everything else.
Most of the time, though, I like cooking. It's partly because I love good food. I enjoy eating tasty meals so much that I want to create them myself. I'd like to write a book someday for the same reason - reading is such a delight to me that I'd like to produce a book others might enjoy. We'll see if that ever happens - writing at length is not my strong suit, and I have no talent whatsoever for fiction. But I digress . . .
Another reason I like cooking is that it allows me to create something. I don't consider myself a terribly creative person - I don't paint, I was never very good at the piano, and we won't even discuss scrapbooking. However, if I follow a good recipe most of the creative work has already been done by someone else. All I have to do is follow the directions and not burn anything, and I can produce something that (hopefully) is a pleasure for the senses. It's kind of like those coloring books I drew in as a kid - someone with artistic talent could probably produce something cooler, but as long as I didn't stray too far outside the lines I was at least guaranteed a nice picture.
I've discovered, though, that I don't really enjoy sampling my edible art alone. In college when I was cooking for myself, I just did it to survive. I'd make a big batch of something and subsist on the leftovers for a week. It was only when I cooked for roommates, guests, or (nowadays) my little family that I'd get adventurous and really enjoy what I was doing. Perhaps it was because I craved their approval. Or perhaps I just enjoyed serving people I loved more than serving myself.
I suppose I feel the same way about my hypothetical future book - or this blog, for that matter. I wouldn't see the point in creating them unless I thought someone else might enjoy them.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
And we DO enjoy them. (As a former roomate, I must confess that I enjoyed your cooking as well. :))
I've found that it's the same for me with my blog. I probably wouldn't post at all (or at least not nearly so often) if people didn't come and read and comment. So thanks for doing that! :)
that's why i like cooking. i like tinkering with recipes to see if i can make them better, or surf allrecipes and try new recipes all the time. i'm sure you're an excellent cook.
Post a Comment