(no subject)

kightp suggested that I: Talk about your relationship with food and cooking. Love it? Hate it? Favorite thing to cook when you don't want to think about cooking?

I identify as a cook. Even as a Cook. I've spent years slinging hash at one greasy spoon or another. This has given me a rather love/hate relationship with cooking.

Cooking is always something that I do for someone else. I've never lived alone and I've never knocked myself out in the kitchen for myself. I wonder what it'll be like when I am alone? Nope, sorry, can't visualize it! There're always strays.

My mother is a fabulous cook. When she got home from work, she'd boot us all out from underfoot and cook. If I could get into that headspace, I think that I'd feel happier about cooking, but usually when I'm making something in the kitchen there are at least two kids miming death from starvation, so I'm snarling and throwing things together as fast as I can.

I'd love to be the kind of cook who prepares beautiful and healthful meals, but mostly I'm just throwing out Hamburger Helper and doctored Ragu.

I make good spaghetti sauce, nice lasagna, and wonderful meatloaf. Last month I made some Thai that I thought was pretty good but that the kids wrinkled up their noses at. Because of the cook's training, I'm really good at making everything come out at the same time; Thanksgiving dinners are my specialty. I'm also an excellent camp cook.

But if it was just for me, if it was just for the love of cooking... I dunno. The closest I got was when it was just me and Jake, 20 years ago. I went for months eating stir fried veggies and rice, fried eggs with toast and breakfast cereal.