I Wish I Liked to Cook as Much as I Like to Eat!
After preparing 30,000 meals, I’m burnt out. But I can’t say the same for my desire to consume food cooked by someone else.
B. B. King said it best;
The thrill is gone. It’s gone away for good.
My marriage lasted 26 years and produced two great kids. My husband would barbeque occasionally, but that was it. Now I am in a relationship with someone who doesn’t cook at all, and to make matters worse, he is a picky eater! This means I have been the sole meal preparer for over 40 years, and I am over it.
I have paid my dues in the kitchen.
Those days of pouring over a new recipe with excitement are gone. It has been a job that I am willing to hand off to another. A job whose only payment is the passive appreciation of those who have eaten what I have prepared.
There was a time when I did enjoy cooking. When I was younger, I would pour over cookbooks to learn new dishes and pick up better kitchen techniques. I watched all the cooking shows, hoping that they would turn me into a better cook. I would find joy in coming up with a new recipe that everyone would eat that I could add to my repertoire. Even now, I have so many recipes on scraps of paper collected over the years that I have given up on trying to organize it.
Being quarantined has magnified my angst of cooking. My partner is working from home. So now I get to prepare three meals a day except for the occasional take out from valued local restaurants. I insist on trying to support our local vendors saying that I feel for their plight. But really it is my own desire to not have to plan anything other than where to go.
Eating is another story.
I love to eat. I have never wavered on that conviction.
For most of my life, I have lived by the credo, live to eat rather than eat to live.
There is nothing like a couple of good beef ribs cooked to perfection and covered in a rich reduction sauce. And of course, paired with a great red wine or a generous pour of good tequila. Plus, the warmth and attention of all my favorite bartenders and servers. They all contribute to the enjoyment of the meal.
I rarely pass up the opportunity to eat with family or friends. I enjoy the whole experience of dining out. I treat it as a treasured event. The ambiance, people watching, comfortable conversations, being waited on, and not having to clean up, all contribute to the enjoyment.
I miss eating out and wonder if the dining experience will ever be the same. I know it will have to change, but I am sure I will grow to love the new normal. Whether it is plexiglass shields between diners or the ever-present bottle of hand sanitizer on the table, I will make it work.
In the meantime, I have tried to find some joy in cooking again. If nothing else, it seems valued more than before. It is the only show in town most nights. So even the un-inspired meals take on a whole new appreciation.
We are appreciating a lot of the little mundane parts of life these days. There are good things that come out of a crisis. Let’s hang on to them as long as we can.
