why do you cook?

by Stacy

(Inspired by this post at Ruhlman gone meme via Raccoon and Lobster)

  • I cook because I love to feed people.
  • I cook to control what does and does not go into my food.
  • I cook because I like to eat delicious, healthy food, but I’m cheap.
  • I cook because I love the alchemy of transforming simple ingredients into something completely different.
  • I cook to do justice to the produce available to me, especially from my CSA.
  • I cook for the challenge and satisfaction of successfully making something new.
  • I cook to meditate, as it requires concentration and focus.
  • I cook because I am hungry.

pasta "primavera"

Why do you cook?

{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }

tater1112 February 22, 2010 at 7:22 am

Most of your reasons sound good, plus:
*I like the challenge of improvising a recipe with what I have on hand
*I like the impressed look on Reid’s face when I’ve told him that the food he’s enjoying was improvised. :)

I feel the alchemy most when baking, and sometimes when cooking with raw meat or other ingredients that I can’t season “to taste” until they’re already cooked. Then I just have to take the leap of faith and trust the recipe!

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stacy February 22, 2010 at 4:15 pm

Some of my favorite dinners have been made of “stuff that’s in the fridge and needs to be used up.”

Making caramel and custard-like foods like pudding or lemon curd is just so freaking cool when it magically becomes more than the sum of its parts.

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Jennifer February 22, 2010 at 9:19 am

If my food turned out looking like your food Stacy I’d love cooking more too. πŸ˜‰

My reasons .. or biggest one .. is a little simple ..

Because I have two hungry kids, and one hungry man.

Good food (save for sushi, which I don’t make anyhow) is too far away.

I don’t like the idea of feeding my children chemicals and hormones, or wrecking the earth with them.

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stacy February 22, 2010 at 4:16 pm

Maybe if you cooked more, your food would start looking better! How do you think mine got that way? ;p

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Kate February 22, 2010 at 9:51 am

I cook to challenge myself. To feed my son healthy, wholesome foods, and to teach him how to make good choices about what he eats. I cook to learn new techniques. I cook to get a taste of places that I cannot visit (or afford).

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stacy February 22, 2010 at 4:22 pm

We don’t have kids yet, but we plan to, and we have a lot to think about when we do. I have a post in my head that will cover some of this later.

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Birch February 22, 2010 at 10:48 am

I cook whenever I cannot avoid having to do so in order to not be too hungry.

And chocolate chip cookies.

Of course, I read your blog for the writing, not the cooking.

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stacy February 22, 2010 at 4:23 pm

And because you love me!

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Kimberly February 22, 2010 at 11:17 am

I cook because a person’s got to eat. Also, I like the taste of food I’ve made better than packaged or restaurant meals. It’s just that simple :)

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stacy February 22, 2010 at 4:24 pm

But you could just eat fast food or microwave dinners. Technically. I’m not saying you should.

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Ronnie February 22, 2010 at 4:30 pm

I cook to control what does and does not go into my food.

Oh hey, why didn’t I just say that? I cook because I’m crap at writing briefly and clearly. πŸ˜›

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