Obviously its a necessity to feed ourselves, but im talking deeper here. What inspires you? Who are your muses? What beyond the basic need to eat keeps you excited about food?
I am endlessly inspired by Nigella Lawson and her entire ethos around cooking. “Food is both a pleasure palace and a sanctuary.” “Cooking is a balm in troubled times.” “Food has the ability to make a real difference, every single day.” So many amazing quotes of hers ring around my head when im in the kitchen.
For me, cooking is spiritual, practical, creative and scientific all at once. It gets me on my feet, off my screen, and allows me to nourish myself and those I love. It requires all of my senses and no matter how practiced a recipe is there is always an element of improvisation.
I could go on, but im much more curious…why do you cook?
My wife and I cook because we love good food, and unique foods. But also because we’re cheap and eating out is expensive.
Don’t get me wrong, we’ll eat out when we need to, or when we want to, especially with friends. But we can spend that extra money, BECAUSE we cook the majority of our meals.
We don’t meal prep per se, but if a meal can be doubled, we double it, and eat leftovers for a few days. We lead busy lives, can’t cook every day.
I grew up eating mostly from boxes and cans. My mom did good with what we had. There were fresh meats and veggies at times, we had a small garden, but I was picky about veggies. So my wife handles all the flavors and meal ideas. I’m more of a tool in the kitchen. Chop those veggies, fry that steak, wash those fruits, etc.
I can follow a moderately complex recipe, I can make a roux, I know a lot of do’s and don’t’s. But honestly when left to my own devices… I eat garbage, to my detriment.
Again, I love good food. But I’m also lazy. And I easily tolerate garbage food. My wife gets sad when the food is bad, so when she’s involved, we make good food. One of the reasons I miss her when she’s away.
Love this! It’s so important to find a partner that we can find symbiosis with. Sounds like food and cooking is just another way for you to provide for and lift one another up. So lovely. Thanks for sharing!