Food for thought

Slowly scrolling through Lauren's food blog is probably one of the most torturous things to do while at work. She posts tons of beautiful photos of pies, steaks, cookies, chicken and all other kinds of deliciousness you can imagine. Of course they are all out of reach as I sit here and gnaw on my boring apple to the hum of my computer. I mean, I'm not particularly good at cooking. I get by and my food doesn't make you want to take your own life so I feel that is somewhat of an accomplishment. I can bake much better than prepare a meal and that's mainly because of the patience aspect of it all. I can't stand being hungry and making dinner, or lunch or whatever it is and having to sit and wait it out. Baking is usually done after I've devoured a good meal so the haste isn't the same. I can wait for the cookies (and so can my thighs).

But food is an odd thing, don't you think? Of course we need it to survive but events tend to be centered around food. I can't even count how many times I've heard someone say "there was free food so I went". Or any kind of party generally involves food even if it's just small snacky platters of cheese and crackers. Going out to dinner is a huge phenomenon and exorbitant amounts of money can be spent in a restaurant on one meal. People spend hours wine tasting and pairing select wines with select food to acquire the perfect taste and combination. Suddenly food isn't just about surviving. People need water to live and social events are not fashioned around the tasting of water. People are not drawn into attending gatherings based on the free H2O. And water is even more essential to living then solid food.

I mean, don't get me wrong, I love food. Food is my crack. But I just find it odd how popular food is. It's not just about eating to get through the day with enough energy, it's about mass consumption. It's about creativity. It's about turning cooking into an art (which I definitely think it is). It's about being the topic of conversation. Before I moved desks most of my daily conversation with my coworkers was about food. I would listen for hours as the two Italian men in my office would discuss dishes, recipes, cheeses, olive oils, pickles, canning, BBQing, boiling, baking... you name it, they talked about it. I always left work feeling famished because the entire day was spent hearing about food. Food is one of the main driving forces behind social interaction. This is not new, of course. People thousands of years ago would congregate because of eating, because they had to. They had to farm, hunt, gather and interact with one another to trade and share for survival. The grocery store around the corner doesn't really require you to barter with the cashier. You don't even have to speak to anyone while shopping anymore, they have self-check out! But yet food prevails to be a number one factor in group gatherings despite it not being necessary anymore.

I'm not complaining. I love an excuse to eat and cook with friends. I'm just word vomiting all over this page because I can. In writing this I've also decided that once I get home I'm going to bake and put on a few pounds.

Liz