Cooking up something

I love food. Food is delicious, mystical, diverse, satisfying, and just great. Except as much as I like eating food, I am not the most keen chef. I don't hate cooking but it's not my thing either.

Cooking is such a unique type of art because everyone needs to learn how to do it but some people have a more affinity for it than others.

Cooking has existed since the start of human history because we have always needed some way to enjoy food. We started cooking on simple fires and clay ovens to now using complex stove tops, microwaves, cookers and so much more. Now there are so many different ways to cook such as roasting, grilling, frying, boiling, simmering, poaching, baking etc. Creating food has now become an art, hobby and a job for some.

2020 has been wack; that has been clearly established. Due to this pandemic many people , have found a new passion for cooking. We were asked to stay at home, not go to restaurants, rely on food delivery or others for cooking. So now many of us have had to adapt and learn how to cook for ourselves or our family so we can still have fun dinners, lunches for breakfast. When I was still in school pre-corona, I barely had time to cook. I usually had milk and fruit for breakfast, a basic sandwich or Indian food for lunch, and then salad or soup for dinner. Of course, my parents cooked food for me because I didn't have much time. But now staying at home, I have cooked more for myself and my family in these past 6 months than I have in my life. In this pandemic I have learned how to make tacos, pancakes, cookies, quinoa and eggs, pickle sandwiches and burgers, indian food such as dal for pulao and pizza. My menu has expanded and to be honest, cooking has gone from something I used to despise to now somewhat enjoy. I still have my gripes with it because sometimes the process can be long and I am impatient, but the results are satisfying.

Food is its own culture. Food binds people all over the world because there is so much different variety, techniques and each culture is unique. As an Indian, our food is known for being spicy (sometimes a little too much), colorful and its variety. Some of my favorite Indian dishes are idli/dosa and sambar, naan, different types of sabji (vegetable curry), paneer, pulao and biryani, roti, and different curries. Outside of Indian cuisine, I love Thai curries, Mexican tacos or burritos, Chinese and Italian food. In my house, we also like to draw from our other cultures as we have spicy Ghanan rice, Thai curry and cook pasta quite often. Food is a universal art and can be enjoyed by people anywhere around the world.

Cooking may seem like a long task but it's honestly a lot of fun once you open up. it.It is destressing, fun and always a fun bonding activity with others. You don't even have to start super complex. It just takes a little push to make a salad or a sandwich and then build up from there.

After all, no one is born a great cook but it takes hard work and passion to become in tune with the art.