Cooking is comforting

I'm sitting in my office in the Bronx, just finished my ziti and corn-syrup free Pink Grapefruit Dole Sparkler that I picked up in Canada. While driving up, I listened to the Brazilian music cds my brother sent me and thought about Brazilian grills. I realized that the first thing I ask someone when I meet them, is "what kind of food do you eat" - I always want to know the main dish, the authentic indication of the culture. I was TAing with someone from Brazil two years ago when I posed this question to her. We started trekking to Long Island City from Flushing for lunch - I was introduced to picanha and the best mashed potatoes ever. When you go to a Brazilian grill, why is it so heavy with meat? Is ranching a function of the landscape or was this culture imported by the colonizers? Where's the veggies? Do Brazilians have high cholesterol, etc? I guess these questions arise from the geographer within.

I know it's only been a few days, but I'm liking this blog - I now understand why people do it. It's therapeutic in many ways, because I think the act of writing down your thoughts clears the mind. Also, this blog is promoting cooking and for me cooking is quite comforting. When I cook there is a sense of accomplishment, a sense of giving, and an overall warm and fuzzy feeling.

I like it and want to cook more...I'm on the soup kick and have been racking my mind thinking about all the soups I used to make...yes I'm a has been but I'm on the upswing insha'Allah. The North African vegetarian stew I made for my daughter's class a few years ago - do I even remember the ingredients? The many different seafood stews...chicken soup, vegetable soup, and of course salona. Then there's the Asian soups that I love that I've never tried - wonton, coconut milk, etc...oh and this brings me to the broths that I used to create for fondues...what happened to that Martha Stewart wannabe?

Grad school.

I had the brilliant idea to commute from Philadelphia to Manhattan for grad school. It was just a quick ride on Amtrak, and I only had to stay one night in Yonkers. That quickly evolved into something far less convenient, it really did seem like a good idea at the time...Of course, I went all out with the cooking because I was away from my family. Roasted duck, leg of lamb, etc on random weeknights. Sunday dinners with the extended family. I was out of control - but that's my M.O. Something had to give - it was the cooking. I was advised by many a homemaker to take it easy - don't worry about the messy house, does your family really need a homemade full course meal every night...I discovered that I could get a lot of tasty prepared food from Trader Joes at a decent price without being loaded with all kinds of chemical compounds.

I became addicted to TJs mac & cheese...we were experimenting with all kinds of food - our freezer was full of conveniences - the idea of planning and executing a meal became daunting. So I didn't do it. I felt bad, like I was slighting my family and I wondered if this new course was hazardous to our health. I knew better though...I wasn't raised like this - my dad demanded home cooking, we ate organic food before it was en vogue...what was I doing? Even during my downtime, I didn't cook - I simply heated up. I thought, ghee, this is why they say a women's place is in the home - once a woman steps out of the home, everything goes to hell. I loved food too much to continue like that...I was getting tired of TJs and coveted dinner invitations to my grandmom's, mom's, or aunt's house - anywhere I could get a homecooked meal.

Economic downturn hits home.

The gravity of the food situation became clear when I realized how much money we spent in processed food, dining out, take out, etc - it was ridiculous. The only thing that saved us probably is that my children love fruit - nectarines, peaches, plums, pears, grapes, cherries, etc and the like all kinds of veggies...veggies are relatively quick and easy to prepare so every now and again we would have something fresh. Last Monday I made a conscientious decision to buy groceries rather than buying prepared food. I suppose I was inspired by dinner at a friend's a few weeks back - she's from Trinidad and had prepared an okra cookoo and stew fish - it was tasty and elicited memories of the stew I used to make...

I bought a piece of steelhead trout and recalled when it was $1.99/lb just a few years ago. I went home and made the stew. It felt so good to prepare a quick tasty meal. The family loved it and I guess it was the rebirth of Lazeez Goodeez.