Been cooking since age 8 because, being the oldest, I was tasked with cooking for my family because my mother was (honest, but sad), lazy and discovered that I was capable in the kitchen in spite of my young age. I've now been cooking for 60+ years.
At first, it was a chore and I had A LOT of learning to do but I managed and, when I was 13, enrolled myself in a mail order cookbook-of-the-month club. I still have the 4 original books I selected...for a whole dollar! What a deal! I remained a member of the club for at least 15 years and accumulated a variety of cookbooks that educated and fascinated me.
By the time I'd reached my mid-teens, I discovered that I really liked to cook and did my best, given what I had to work with, to produce tasty, wholesome and attractive meals for my family.
When my cooking journey began, I cooked because I
had to and only viewed it as a chore to get done, plus my family had to eat.
College time was more an experience of study, study, study, throw some food in my face, sleep a little, the study, study, study...
Real cooking was nowhere on my radar at that time.
I married the first time when I was still in my teens and entered a relationship that included a pre-kindergarten son and a husband who believed himself to be a gourmand. Yes, he did enjoy fine/good food but he was as I learned too late, not who he claimed to be, food and dining included.
At any rate, I did have the opportunity to be a stay at home mom, which gave me the time to pursue my love of cooking and I used my time wisely. That's when my interest in cuisines of the world began to blossom, along with my cookbook collection. One whole wall of my kitchen (ceiling to floor) had shelves running over with books that tempted and called to me daily. This may be one of the reasons that my children rarely turned their noses up at any kind of food and will eat nearly anything. No picky eaters in the house. Yeah!!!!
Then, I met and married Buck who was as much fun to cook for as anyone could ever be. He loved to cook, too, and many of our "dates" before we married centered around cooking, food, shopping for food, pots and pans and the kitchen. If any two people were "enablers," we were. Both of us should've signed up with "cooking/food/pots & pans anonymous!"
As our 32 years together passed, our roles evolved and changed. After all the children flew the nest and we moved to Kentucky for retirement, Buck became more the sous chef than the chef and cheered me on in the kitchen. It was a joyous time and we created and enjoyed hundreds of memorable meals.
Once we moved to Kentucky, we didn't eat out very often because, geographically, there was nothing much beyond fast food fare within a reasonable driving distance, so our solution was having our own fine dining experience at home. I'm almost embarrassed to add that he was as big a cookbook fiend as I and we amassed scores more of recipe-filled volumes. It wasn't/isn't unusual for me to read a cookbook like someone else might read a novel. I still succumb to a "delicious" title every time and my list of titles exceeds 2,200 now.
After Buck died, I lived in a year-long fog and ate and/or cooked very little. I didn't realize it but I lost a great deal of weight because of it. I lived alone and didn't see many people often and had no way of knowing. I'd had the starch knocked out of me and I simply didn't care. I ate only enough to get by. There are large parts of that year I don't remember at all. Perhaps that's a good thing.
Having said all of the above, I have discovered that I love to cook. I enjoy the precision of some of it (referring mainly to baking), I love the ordered manner of it, the textures, fragrances, sights and, best of all, the tastes.
Cooking, as others have related, relaxes me and it fulfills one of the things that makes me happiest...after all the mixing, stirring, blending and cooking of what may appear to be random ingredients, I'm rewarded with something I can enjoy and share with others.
One of my favorite George Carlin remarks was one he made to his mother about something she'd prepared from one of her cookbooks. He commented, "But does it LOOK LIKE the picture?"
I can now proudly say I can make it LOOK LIKE the picture!!
I'm by nature, a very curious person and feed my curiosity by testing and experimenting in the kitchen when I want to "tweak" a recipe or create a completely new one because, you know what...I think X, Y and Z ingredients might be a stellar combination?
I am fortunate, in that, Glenn will eat darned near anything and has no dietary restrictions. That last part of the sentence becomes part of life as we age, but neither of us has succumbed to any food limitations. Unless, you consider moving the spoon or fork to our mouth too frequently.
He's not as "kitcheny" as Buck and much prefers for me to cook and create without his supervision or assistance, unless I request it. That's okay with me. Everyone's different, but he's hell on wheels when it comes to taking corn off the cob! Quick and surgical. I'm all for it. Not my favorite task.
How do I consider myself when it comes to cooking? I'm not a chef by any means, but there are plenty of folks who would loudly dispute that statement. I am skilled through experience, curiosity and reading. By now, I can intuitively read a recipe and, pretty much, tell if it's worth trying or sending to the round file.
I try, and I say
try, to cook a new recipe as it is written the "first" time without any customizations or tweaks. In some cases, especially with savory dishes, I sometimes have to slap my hands to leave the recipe alone because the need/desire to change some little thing or to add something is so overwhelming.
I don't do as much cooking as I would like right now because, over the last 18 months or so, I've been going through some taxing health issues and, now, Glenn is right in the middle of something not so pleasant for him. So, you might say, cooking is taking a back burner. Except for keeping body and soul together.
We'll get back to adventures with cooking and food again, I'm certain and I'm looking forward to it. Going through the produce portion of our market is food porn to me and it's getting harder by the day to resist. Plus, every new issue of
Southern Living that I pluck from my mailbox is making me nuts. I could eat the cover photos alone! Well, at least, the paper would be high in fiber.
My answer is long, but there you have it.