Cooking is a fulfilling and wholly communal process. You start with what is raw, sometimes even inedible, and create a final product to share with your entourage. To finish the COVID quarantine, I learned this skill and would love to share some of my creations and the lessons that cooking has taught me.
It's nothing too crazy, but I certainly could have never imagined myself in this current position even a few months ago. Cooking is a relaxing and satisfying activity that I only just recently discovered, and the process of discovering new dishes and challenging myself with something new every day has been incredibly rewarding.
Cooking teaches you how to be resourceful and transform the crude elements which you are provided with into a delectable work of art which you can share with others. It's like an orchestra. A piece of salad is pretty boring on its own, but it can be amplified in a mix with tuna or when placed in a burger. The possibilities of one ingredient are endless, and the joy is in finding different ways to place it. What's also noteworthy is that your audience, the people you are cooking for, don't see the ingredients when they start in their most basic form. You are transforming them and shaping a final product to offer.
The actual time spent in the kitchen can be slightly stressful, but the organization and attention to detail which is required creates a relieving and satisfying experience when it is complete. With each additional component, the task doubles in difficulty because you need to monitor something else and divide your attention, which requires you to find the points of stagnancy with one particular food before moving on to the next. For example, when the meat is simmering and doesn't need to be checked in the next few minutes, you can use that small window to stir the vegetables, always keeping an eye out for the main dish.
What I like about cooking as well is the fact that it doesn't require perfection at its most basic level. It's about sharing the food and enjoying what's on the plate. An extra 15 seconds on the pan—or even a minute— won't change the taste, so you just need to follow your instinct and decide when you think it is best to remove the ingredient. How will you serve the food? What condiments will you provide to your guests? What do you want the presentation to look like? One large patty? Two small ones? How does that discrepancy create an impact in the final dish? You've got a lot of flexibility, and there are usually no right answers, except when it comes to monitoring times for the oven and making sure that nothing burns!
Treat yourself to some fantastic food and take up cooking! It can be pretty easy to just snatch something from the fridge or throw a dish in the microwave, but I would recommend a little time in the kitchen to elevate some basic ingredients into a dish which you can share with your loved ones. As we are slowly transitioning back to normalcy, let's take advantage of these last few months with our families if you're at home (or come back to this post over the summer!) and get cooking!
Let me know what you think of the dishes above or leave any thoughts about this post!
See you all soon!
3/19/21