Why I love to cook

So I am in the middle of cooking my Thanksgiving dinner and I glance at the dishes lined up, waiting for their turn in the oven. They looked so pretty, so well executed, so perfect! I thought to myself, "Boy, I love to cook!" And I do. I really enjoy cooking. It got me wondering why. What is it about cooking that I love so much?

There are a few quick and easy answers that come imediately to mind. The first two are no brainers. One, I love to eat! And two, I enjoy providing nourishment for my family and friends. I enjoy potluck meals and holiday gatherings where we share our favorite recipes. When we serve a meal, we get instant feedback, either in the form of gratification or in complaint. We can measure our success by the amount of food consumed. We measure our success when our food is spoken about or requested and sometmes becomes family/workplace legend! But this morning I realized that there is more to it than that. In fact, there are several more reasons that feed into my enjoyment of cooking, and here they are:

We've all heard that one, ad nauseum! Many young girls are encouraged to learn to cook, not for basic survival but for marriage! I prefer to interpret that old proverb a little differently. I agree that people/men enjoy being fed but I don't think that it is the actual "filling of the stomache" that equals love. I think it's the fact that someone cares enough about you to plan a meal, pick out and purchase the ingredients, put them together and serve it to you. I believe that is enough to denote love/caring. Therefore, the way to a man's heart is to lovingly prepare him a meal whether or not his belly gets full! and that same sentiment carries through to your friends and family. Why are homemade gifts so popular? Because someone took the time to prepare them for you!

that is why I succeed."~Michael Jordan

Using the example of cooking, the above quote can be very true. When we cook, not everything comes out the way we want it or expect it to. Sometimes the cake doesn't rise or the soup is too salty or the meat too tough. What do we do when this happens? Do we beat ourselves up over it? Maybe sometimes, like when there's company on their way over but usually, we either fix it, make something different or order in! If it's something we feel invested in, we will go over the recipe, make sure we followed it correctly. If so, then we need to revise it. If not, then we need to follow it more closely the next time around. Sometimes, it just needs to be tweaked. Then point is, that wilth cooking, we generally keep at it until we are content with the outcome! I read a hub a couple of weeks ago and I want to share it here. This is an example of doing it until you get it right, as well as pleasing her man! It's called "Oatmeal Bars" by Just ask Susan

"What is not started today is never finished tomorrow."~Johann Wolfgang Goethe

for loving the task of cooking is that it is one job I can follow through from start to finish. I started this hub thinking about how much I love cooking because there are instant results and gratification. I thought about the process. How I could decide what I wanted to cook, make a list, buy what I need, then prepare it! I thought about how, I don't even have to always go that route because I generally have a stocked kitchen and a good imagination for planning meals. I realized that cooking for me is one of my best examples of successful multi-tasking! I love the idea of a finished product. Interestingly, billybuc just published a hub on procrastination and I realized another thing. Since I am a severe procrastinator and cooking is one of the areas that I don't procrastinate, it will always be one of my favorite things!