Culinary Possibility.
Lately, I've been drawn to magazines about cooking and baking and other culinary feats. The photographs are always seductive and alluring, demonstrating what can be possible when cooking considers artistry rather than just necessity at its core. I am not really a good cook. Every now and again, when the mood strikes me, I can come up with a nice meal. But, I'm often put off by the lack of accessories or space in my own kitchen.
I love dinner parties. If I had a nice table with a good number of chairs, a decent set of dishes that served more than two, and pots, pans, and other items that allowed cooking for more than two easily, I would probably have dinner parties a couple or times a month. There's something really enjoyable about setting a good table and presenting yummy things on it for your guests. Of course, accompanying lavish dining should be lavish conversation. This is no fun if your guests take off five minutes after dessert. The work feels shallow and wasted, then. But, I can't quite seem to get into the hang of cooking or otherwise entertaining --or even being social, as this semester is wholly devoid of human interaction that isn't mediated by my Macbook -- here in LA. I've come to hate my kitchen, and indeed the idea of food.
Yet, the cookbooks and cooking sites seem to beckon. I've been looking up recipes lately for all the things I like, compiling bits and pieces in my notebooks for some day when I have more space and utensils at my disposal, I guess. But, it seems I am simply out of habit.
It seems a bit strange to think about ways to incorporate cooking into one's life, but lately, that's what I'm considering. For years now, I've been subsisting an alternating three modes of cuisine: take-out and delivery, frozen or processed junk (that doesn't taste good), or a raw diet of fruits and veggies and cheese. The third one is the most appealing, but it always seems to be cold. I like soups and stews and would have them all the time if they were easier to make. In fact, last year when I was on a weight-loss kick, I tried subsisting solely on canned soup and vitamins; neither did it work, nor was it sustainable.
I guess the simple solution is to do this a week at a time. I think that once I start cooking for myself on a more regular basis, other things will follow in my life. I've been watching my diet and exercising, which should demonstrate some improvement. But, maybe it's time to think about the old adage about quality's preferential status over quantity's. Quality of life is an important consideration, too. And, perhaps if I start to nourish my soul again, instead of trying to be a word factory, I will be more excited about the daily grind of writing, again -- which has never really felt like a chore until very recently.
Even when you're thinking about theory all day long, you really can't live theoretically without some practical, embodied time, it seems!
I love dinner parties. If I had a nice table with a good number of chairs, a decent set of dishes that served more than two, and pots, pans, and other items that allowed cooking for more than two easily, I would probably have dinner parties a couple or times a month. There's something really enjoyable about setting a good table and presenting yummy things on it for your guests. Of course, accompanying lavish dining should be lavish conversation. This is no fun if your guests take off five minutes after dessert. The work feels shallow and wasted, then. But, I can't quite seem to get into the hang of cooking or otherwise entertaining --or even being social, as this semester is wholly devoid of human interaction that isn't mediated by my Macbook -- here in LA. I've come to hate my kitchen, and indeed the idea of food.
Yet, the cookbooks and cooking sites seem to beckon. I've been looking up recipes lately for all the things I like, compiling bits and pieces in my notebooks for some day when I have more space and utensils at my disposal, I guess. But, it seems I am simply out of habit.
It seems a bit strange to think about ways to incorporate cooking into one's life, but lately, that's what I'm considering. For years now, I've been subsisting an alternating three modes of cuisine: take-out and delivery, frozen or processed junk (that doesn't taste good), or a raw diet of fruits and veggies and cheese. The third one is the most appealing, but it always seems to be cold. I like soups and stews and would have them all the time if they were easier to make. In fact, last year when I was on a weight-loss kick, I tried subsisting solely on canned soup and vitamins; neither did it work, nor was it sustainable.
I guess the simple solution is to do this a week at a time. I think that once I start cooking for myself on a more regular basis, other things will follow in my life. I've been watching my diet and exercising, which should demonstrate some improvement. But, maybe it's time to think about the old adage about quality's preferential status over quantity's. Quality of life is an important consideration, too. And, perhaps if I start to nourish my soul again, instead of trying to be a word factory, I will be more excited about the daily grind of writing, again -- which has never really felt like a chore until very recently.
Even when you're thinking about theory all day long, you really can't live theoretically without some practical, embodied time, it seems!