Cooking: A Way to Unwind

Last night I talked about how snuggling with my wife and children "makes things all better." It soothes me, and I am not so macho that I cannot admit that. Tonight, I was reminded of another activity that soothes me - cooking.

I was not in the best of moods before I started to make dinner tonight. After a few minutes of cooking though, my mood mellowed. I am trying to figure out what exactly it is about cooking that calms me down. Several possible reasons come to mind. First, let me tell you what I made.

We had Pumpkin Pancakes, a simple potato hash, eggs, and sausage. Yes, we had breakfast for dinner tonight. It is a favorite of the kiddies. This was not a hard meal to make; but, it required some planning and prep work. The planning was in starting to cook items in sequence that would allow everything to be done at once. The prep work was in mixing the pancake batter and chopping the potatoes and onions.

The chopping is the most cathartic part of the prep work, and not because I am envisioning that the potato is actually some coworker that has ticked me off. For me, it is the methodical repetition that is so relaxing. I cut the potato in half lengthwise. Then, I cut each half into three piece, again lengthwise. Finally, I cut across the potato to create similar sized cubes. This process did not take long; but, by the end, I was starting to feel better because I was able to let my mind go.

Next, it was on to determining in what order to cook each menu item. It was obvious - the potatoes - they take the longest. After I started them, I knew I needed to start the pancake batter. And, on it went until I had finished making dinner. This problem solving portion of cooking allowed me to get my mind working again.

The best part of cooking is the eating. The pancakes, sausage, and eggs were all excellent. The potatoes, on the other hand, were a little blackened. I started off cooking them with the flame too hot, and I was not watching them as closely as I normally would. They got a little crispy while I was mixing the pancake batter but they were still good. Even Molly ate some.

It is interesting to me that my last two posts have been about things that chill me out. In the end, it makes sense. Things have gotten stressful at work. But, it is nothing that I have not been through before. I know how to cope with these stresses. As a result, I guess I am more aware of how snuggling and cooking help me cope when external forces are trying to bring me down.