I Haven't Been Cooking Lately And It's Bumming Me Out

Several months ago, the hours at my job changed such that most days I work until 6 PM (or 8 PM on Friday nights). What this has meant for me and my family is that I am not cooking much these days. And when I do cook, it is likely to be a re-run of an old stand by-- in other words, Nothing to Blog About.

This is bumming me out. I had no idea how much preparing the family meal had become a kind of grounding, comforting activity for me. The work of planning and preparing the meals kept me oriented in time and space. It provided a rhythm to my days. Now I feel kind of anxious and disoriented, wondering if I have bought the right groceries when someone else is going to assemble a meal out of them.

Needless to say, it has also wreaked havoc with this, a "food blog". I still have plenty to read and say and experience about food, but when it comes to blogging I find myself feeling like I am coming late to the dinner table in more ways than one. Where are my pictures of food, amatuer offerings though they may be? Where are the new (to me, anyway) recipes? Well they aren't there, and so I feel at a loss. I was so used to starting each post with a picture, and I feel kind of sheepish when I come up empty handed.

There have been some silver linings to this gloomy cloud, though. For one thing, I have witnessed the men in the family being resourceful about food, and my dear husband often has something ready for me to eat when I get home, even though he also spent a long day at his job. That's something I sincerely appreciate. And I am also making more regular use of the crock pot, which is really a wonderful invention, provided I remember to make the time to prepare the meal in the morning.

Even if I haven't been cooking much lately, I still love reading my favorite food blogs and seeing what others have been cooking up lately. It is a kind of literary feasting that is still very satisfying.

Speaking of literary feasting, (as in my last post), hop on over to Vanilla Garlic and read Garrett's very funny and entertaining "foodie" version of Dante's Inferno, called Garrett's Inferno. After you read part one, you will want to read part two, of course. Good stuff!

Comments

[Garrett]

I usually cook mostly on weekends nowadays, unless its something that takes 15 minutes or less.

thanks for the hail on the Inferno pieces, it's nice to know someone liked them. :)

[Nirmala]

I know how you feel. You'll get back into it with time though. Sometimes I make large quantities of food over the weekend for the week or I do prep stuff so that I can come home and toss things together. Or I just eat late!