What a day! Starting with a page at 8am to minister to a family and nursing staff after a sudden and tragic death and not stopping all day, I was ready to head home. And because I am on call this week, I am constantly aware of the possibility that I will be called back to the hospital at any time. After a day like today, all I want to do is relax. And my preferred way of doing so is by watching cooking shows. Lots of them.
I am not entirely sure when my addiction with cooking shows began, but slowly and surely I became hooked. I remember while I was seminary I would set my t.v. to turn itself on at 8am on Saturday mornings so I could begin watching cooking shows. This was, obviously, before I became a more virtuous person, as 8am is well into the day for me now. Even on Saturdays now, when I don't have to get up, I am still usually walking the dog by 6:30am. The other day I was thinking, "When did I become this person, someone for whom sleeping in is still getting up before 7am?" Sigh.
Anyway, back to my addiction. Nothing pleases me more than to lay on the couch and watch cooking shows. And as a vegetarian trying to loose weight, 90% of the shows are not relevant. But I don't care. I will happily watch someone de-bone a chicken or bake something with 2 sticks of butter. I stare in rapt attention as they make "no-bean just meat chili" or watch as another wraps bacon around chunks of mac and cheese and then deep-fat fries it. But, WHEN they do show a health conscious vegetarian meal, stand back! It's like I hit the jack-pot, hole in one, and home run all in one day (which would be quite a feat, since I don't gamble, play golf or baseball - though that would still probably be a really good day). I watch the show, slowly savoring each moment, think to myself, "okay, yep I could do that. WAIT, go back! I missed a step. Oh, there we go, sure that makes sense" (alright, I said 'think' to myself, but periodically I may say these things out loud, a side effect of living only with a dog).
What is it that is so great about these cooking shows for me? I think it is because I get to live vicariously through the cooks. My current life style makes me really aware of what I eat, so my fat, salt, and carbohydrate intake is significantly reduced. I look and feel much better, but I still long for those days when I too could cook like the t.v. professionals. I recently watched one of them make a cheese cake whose layers went like this: chocolate cookie crumble crust, caramel, chocolate-chip cookie dough, fatty cheese cake, and chocolate ganache. Yep, I memorized it. And I still think about it. A lot.
But these shows are for entertainment and I don't feel bad about my limited diet. I feel good knowing I am making healthy choices. And, contrary to popular belief, I don't feel hungry while watching these shows. It satisfies me instead. No drama, no sexism, no politics, just the universal necessity of food. And the artistry of these cooks is amazing. With two (two!!) different cooking channels on my t.v. line-up (Food Network and The Cooking Channel) I can get my fill (pun intended) of cooking shows. Healthy, fatty, meat-filled, and meat-free. I can feed (again, pun intended, I have been thinking of them all day) my addiction constantly.
Give it a try. If you have had a hard day, zone out while watching some good looking food cross your screen! That is what I will be doing tonight. And in that vein, come back tomorrow when I write about another passion of mine, baking sweet treats for others!
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