Question for you all: What do the acts of cooking and baking mean to you?

[hippywife]

I got to thinking about it this morning, actually I've thought about it a lot over the years.

For me in a smaller way it's a creative hobby, and we all enjoy delicious meals, but more than that it's a gift I give to my husband and those I love. It's a way for me to go beyond mere words and show them how much I love them. That I care enough to take the time and expend the energy on their behalf, for both their health and their enjoyment; to let them know they are welcome in my home and my heart. The rewards for me are watching them enjoy the gift and when they come back days, weeks, months later and talk about the meal or cake or whatever I prepared for them, still thinking about it and wanting more.


How about you? What does it mean to you? :hi:

[Tesha]

1. Food and cooking are a connection for me

from my past, or to places I've been, or dreamed of going to.

Today for lunch I had chopped eggs with green olives and a bit of miracle whip... it was a favorite lunch at my grandparents when I stayed there summers.
It was always placed on a special plate, carried carefully to the playhouse - tucked under the cherry tree with the dappled sun and the whipporwill overhead.

Food is like traveling - be it time or space.

[hippywife]

4. Definitely

some of the best flavors come from memories of what was, and who was in our lives. :hug:

[Hotler]

2. Sometimes it's an escape from the insanity of the world.

I turn on some music pop a beer,and start cooking.

[hippywife]

5. Which means it's

something you enjoy, something that relaxes you and diverts your mind from the worries and stress of life. :hug:

[Warpy]

3. I live with a cat

Doing my own cooking means I know exactly what's going into it and I can cook for my own palate.

[hippywife]

6. Well, that is definitely

why I do it the way I do it. :hi:

[GoCubsGo]

8. Same here..

Including the part about the cat, except that I have two of those.

[yellerpup]

7. Cooking helps me focus on nurture and life.

It is a way for me to shower love on my family and friends and I try to bring something to the table to delight each person. When I get news of a death in a friend's family, I meditate on how to help the survivors "keep going" while I cook whatever I will take to their house. I find that fresh bread is irresistible even when loved ones are depressed beyond feeling hunger. For years before I took up writing, I expressed almost ALL my creativity through food. And yes, dearest hippywife, good meals and good times shared is something to savor for years and years afterward. :loveya:

[hippywife]

9. Nurture and life...

yep, nothing nurtures people more, both body and soul, then a meal prepared with love and consideration.

:loveya:

[yellerpup]

10. And, you know ALL about that....

You're the best! :hug:

[beac]

11. Cooking can be any of the following to me, depending on my mood...

a way to care for loved ones, a burst of creative manic energy, a scientific experiment, an anchor in difficult times or just an opportunity to tune out the world and narrow my focus to the soothing symphony of color and flavor rising up under my knives and spoons.

And since I've become a (if still newbie) gardener, there is an extra element of satisfaction in serving a dish that I absolutely, truly and 100% "made from scratch." :)

[Phentex]

12. I think it's a combination of all those listed...

love being at the top although I was ridiculed for saying that once (not here).

I want my family to have good memories of food and being together. Helps that we all really love food! :)

Helps that they like to try new things.

Sometimes it's therapy for me. Other times, I'm just slinging hash to feed the troops.

Sometimes it's about cooking together and enjoying what we came up with.

:hi:

[MagickMuffin]

13. Since you asked ;=}

As a young girl I was taught how to cook. Mostly so my mom wouldn't have the "chore" of having to cook for a large family.

As I got older and learning to bake cookies and cakes, that was never good enough for dear ole mom. She always wanted me to learn how to make pies, and her tag line was "why aren't you more like your older sister" (who could make delicious pies) in which I would reply "because I am not __________" I refused to learn knowing this was her attempt to force me to make pies for her. She was rather a lazy mom.

Being born and raised in Texas, as you are well aware of meals consisted of meat, potatoes, and a side dish. Not much experimenting with flavors, salt pepper and shortening were the seasonings of choice.


Leap ahead to now and I find such joy in cooking. I am a Kitchen Alchemist™, I :loveya: getting to experiment in my little lab. Sometimes I use a cookbook, or recipe, and sometimes I create new recipes and have soooo much fun doing it. Yea, I get to be creative in my kitchen. I also learned how to make pies :silly:

I also enjoy cooking for others, as it is always satisfying when people acknowledge your hard work in preparing them a meal, and that they sincerely enjoy your creations.


Thanks for asking. I hope all is well with you :hi: