While cooking teaches us to respect the effort involved, it is more than that. I don’t know about you, but I like to cook. Yes there are times when I don’t feel like doing it.

I am not a very planned cook. I am more of a ‘let us try this and see how it goes’ kind of cook. This means, it could be your unlucky day as well. There are no guarantees for all that I cook. I do it for me most of the time than for others. And it is more like a meditation for me. Me with me and myself listen to podcasts most of the time.

I am a Non Vegetarian cook and I have my own valid reason for that. I have found that my Non Vegetarian dishes are better than vegetarian ones. This must be because making tasty vegetarian food is a lot harder than making Non-Vegetarian taste good. At least for Non-Vegetarians like me. 

Like everything in life, when you get a feeling that something is solidifying in our mind, we need to challenge it. So a few days back I decided to cook a Vegetarian dish. Just mixed vegetables with Capsicum and Potato and Tomatoes and so on. It came up well. Eatable not wow-able though.

So what do I learn while cooking?

I learn that there are some changes that we need to impose on ourselves, be it work or personal. You cannot expect everything to just happen. 

I learned that there are things I need to be careful when I do anything. Just like the use of salt while cooking. There is a certain amount that can add value. Too little and too much can go really bad.

I also learned that if some things go wrong it can be fixed, but if it goes really wrong, we should just abandon it… abort it. So it is important to be aware of the risks and monitor them every now and then so you don’t need to quit.

I also learned that even after all the effort we put in, some things just won’t turn out as it is. That is how life is.

I learned that I have two choices, be planned and predictable in what I do or be unpredictable and just follow your hunch. And both have their pros and cons. 

I have found that cooking helps me connect with myself unlike any other activity. It is not about being the best cook. Though people who love you would say good about you. It is about being a better person every time you attempt something. Even if it does not turn out well, you just get better… it is a journey.

Disclaimer: The picture I took is way prettier than the taste in my honest opinion.

Categories: Random Thoughts

Tags: cook, cooking, curry