On the pressure of cooking (reblog)

CW: talk about eating and feelings around the types of food eaten

This month for me has been filled with a lot less cooking than usual. My department is hiring an assistant professor, which means we’ve had a cavalcade of candidates on campus for interviews, teaching demos, job talks, and meals. Lots of meals. And none of them particularly satisfying (the meals, not the candidates).

Not to complain– the meals are free, after all, which appeals to my inner graduate student. But eating so often at the campus cafeteria and local eateries in the small suburban town 40 miles from where I live has been sort of low-level drudgery. So, you would think that, on days I am free to eat on my own, I’d be cooking foods that felt better to my palate, to my tummy, to my weekly needs. Sadly, no– that’s not how these weeks have been playing out. Instead of making nice quiches or sheet pan bakes or stews, I’ve been scrounging around my fridge and pantry, making carb-heavy veggie-light food and flopping on the couch.

There’s nothing wrong with eating whatever you eat. All of us on the blog have written about this many times. And we believe it, and there’s evidence to support our views. But sometimes, in some lives (my life right now in particular), eating feels yucky. It makes sense– I’ve been very busy with candidates, more driving than usual, scrambling to get work done that I couldn’t do because of the schedule shift, and my eating patterns have changed in ways that don’t support my feeling good.

Tomorrow (Monday) is our last of four candidate visits, so there will be room to shift back into ways of food shopping, preparing and eating that better suit me and my system and my feelings. I’m reminded of a post I wrote way way back in February 2019 (remember 2019? Me neither…) It’s about a book, Pressure Cooker: Why Home Cooking Won’t Solve Our Problems and What We Can Do About It. If you haven’t heard of this book, it’s worth checking out.

See you all next week, and I’ll report (briefly) what’s cooking…

-catherine