I probably own over 100 cookbooks. I’ve had subscriptions to every cooking magazine available under the sun at one time or another. I’ve got a bazillion recipes saved in my favorites under a folder entitled RECIPES. I’m subscribed to every cooking blog on the whole Internet! I can tell you what ingredients are in almost any recipe you can think of. But I don’t really like to cook! Seriously, I don’t like to cook.
Which is a good thing. If I did like to cook, if I did make all bazillion recipes in my little folder, if I cracked open one of those cookbooks and just started preparing all those wonderful recipes, who would eat it?
Why am I thinking about this? Well because it’s fall and I was thinking I am really in the mood to bake some Pumpkin Bread. Mixing up all that dark orangey goodness and smelling the delicious spices; cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger, all coming together to fill my little house with their beautiful, aromatic scent. Oh my! (Photo of Pumpkin Bread I made last year, just so you can see that I can bake!)
Then I stop to think… who is going to eat it? I definitely don’t need it. It’s filled with carbs and sugar, and I know that if I were to bake it I wouldn’t eat a bite. So I think, “Well you could bake it for your mom and your kids”. But then I think, “Mom can’t eat the whole thing; my kids don’t need to be eating all that sugar either”. I could bake it for my co-workers, but I know that at the office we are all constantly watching every bite we eat. In fact just the other day a client brought us a box of doughnuts and only our receptionist ate one, the rest we threw out 3 days later! I hate to see food go to waste!
So that started me thinking about all those cooking blogs I love to visit and Oooh and Ahhh over. Who do those people feed that food too? If they’re feeding it to their families don’t they worry about the calories, the carbs, the sugar?
I guess maybe it’s a good thing that I don’t like to cook much so I don’t really have to worry about it. But what about you guys out there in blogland. Do you cook a lot? And if you do, who eats it? I guess for now I’ll just continue to Oooh and Ahhh at pictures and not at the real thing baking in my oven. I’ll just toss all those spices into a pan with water on the stove and let them simmer, that way I can still have the scent of Fall without worrying if my clothes are going to fit!
I used to have the same problem before I moved into my current house. I have family upstairs and constantly dropping by so stuff doesn't have a chance to go bad :D
ReplyDeleteI used to have the same problem before I moved into my current house. I have family upstairs and constantly dropping by so stuff doesn't have a chance to go bad :D
ReplyDeleteOh, I lost that battle to a carrot cake this weekend. I didn't bake it, I bought it. Yummm! But.....
ReplyDeleteLife is cruel.
Anny - Well thats one way to get rid of it...lol. Unfortunately everyone that I have available to give food to is either dieting or diabetic or watching their sodium intake or something.
ReplyDeleteSextant - Love, love, love carrot cake! Especially with cream cheese frosting. Why is everything that is so good, so bad for us?
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ReplyDeleteOh, that pumpkin bread looks delicious. And you guys are talking about carrot cake. Oh don't get me started. I make a delicious carrot cake from scratch and my husband has been begging me to make some. We went grocery shopping yesterday and bought the betty croker carrot cake mix and told him I'll make that one for him. That way I'm not tempted to eat the one I make from scratch. Love your blog Alicia.
ReplyDeleteAlicia- I crave cakes, cookies, and anything else that tastes oh so good but also puts on the weight! The husband can't eat all of that with his diabetes and I know I shouldn't either, so I don't really cook or bake them anymore. But when I do eat a morsel (or two) when I'm away from home, you don't know how I savor them!!!! aaahhh.....
ReplyDeleteI made a version of Starbuck's pumpkin scones last week, and then a glazed pumpkin loaf. We couldn't eat it all and I even gave some of it away. I love to bake, but we really don't need to have all those goodies in the house!
ReplyDeleteMy husband cooks, I eat it. He's skinny and I'm not. haha!
ReplyDeleteAngie - DON'T DO IT!!! Don't bake that carrot cake I beg you! Why? Well because I know you won't be able to keep yourself from eating it. Thank you for loving my blog, I appreciate it! Tell you what, just for that you can bake it at Christmas and I will even eat a big piece of it. Aren't I so generous and selfless? :-)
ReplyDeleteSue - Oddly enough cakes and cookies and sweets are not my downfall; my sister inherited the sweet tooth. But don't get me started on chips & salsa, or cheetos, or popcorn, or kettle corn. I love salty, I love sweet and salty. See, now I've gone and made myself crave some kettle corn!
ReplyDeletePondside - That is one thing that I truly do love, Starbucks Scones! I'm partial to the Vanilla Bean Scone *sigh*. With the holidays right around the corner it's hard not to get caught up in the pumpkin baking rush! I believe I'll wait until Thanksgiving as I'm allowing myself that day to have whatever I want!
ReplyDeleteRebecca - Loving that! Clean and concise!
ReplyDeleteSometimes I realize that I just enjoy reading recipes and cookbooks, especially magazines that show gorgeous pics. I've decided it's similar to looking at decorating magazines. I don't have to make the recipe even if it looks like I would enjoy both making it and eating it! I mainly enjoy cooking when I'm having others over to eat with us ... of if I can give it to someone (especially someone who needs it!) Great post and enjoyed looking at your left to write bookclub!
ReplyDeleteI do only basic cooking. I don't let the enemy (goodies) in, except for holiday time or when I expect visitors.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is when I'm out, I get tempted by the smells coming out of cafes and restaurants, and sometimes I just give in.
podso - Thank you for stopping by. Truely I feel like you, I love looking at the recipes and the pictures, just like some people like looking at decorating books. It's fun to imagine cooking all that stuff, but I don't really want to.
ReplyDeleteI'm really enjoying the book club! It's given me opportunity to read book that I otherwise would not have chosen. There's a bunch of talented writers in the group as well!
DUTA - Me too! I find that to be my biggest problem, going out. I'm ok at the office, I can kinda control myself at home, but get me in a Mexican restaurant with chips and salsa and margaritas and nachos...whooo boy, all my strength goes right out the window!
ReplyDeleteThe Old Baguette collects recipes, cookbooks, gadgets and rarely cooks. I shall try to join your team, but you know the trouble I've been seeing. Moi
ReplyDeleteI wonder about that too, the blogs that focus solely on sweets and cookies. Where does it all go? I bake low carb, so for me it's a whole different matter. But I have learned to bake half-batches, but write up a recipe for full batches. That works well!
ReplyDeleteLOL, do I know this one! I have a serious thing for cookbooks. I have too many. I love finding new recipes online too. But, truthfully, I go back and forth in my desire & enjoyment levels when it comes to cooking. I go through phases. Sometimes I like it a lot and other times I dread it. I especially dread cooking dinner for the family in the evening. Thankfully, I married someone who enjoys getting experimental in the kitchen and is a good cook too. So, when I'm in one of my 'I don't want to cook, period.' phases, everyone still eats and I can still put those recipes to good use! :>
ReplyDeleteYour profile is marvelous. I never read them becauaw rhwy're so boring. But yours? Down the well you go with the goat and the slinky and what do you have? Alicia in Wonderland
ReplyDeleteWell, my comment showed up. How it got there, I know not.
ReplyDeleteVery funny! After reading this I too reflected on how many issues of Vegetarian Times and Cooking Light I have yet to open! And, since I am cooking for one, breaking out a new recipe is even more depressing...there's no one to share it with. Thus, I will continue on my path of less-than-fabulous meals. I'm with ya, who eats all that stuff? :)
ReplyDeleteOh, you are too funny. I totally get the "who am I cooking for if no-one's gonna eat it" thing. Okay, so maybe I really don't get it, since I don't cook. But I DID make some pumpkin chocolate-chip cookies last week. They came out more like the consistency of bread...and that completely bamboozled me. They scoffed them down in my office. My house smelled heavenly...it was worth it just for the smell!!
ReplyDeleteLOL!! Great post!!
ReplyDeleteWell, I cook...my family eats! But, I don't always make alot of sweets, so when I do, they go to town!
Old Baguette/NanookMN - Thank you so much for trying so hard to leave a comment even with all the problems that you've had. I'm honored :-D
ReplyDeleteCarolyn - I know that many of the foodies give their food away to convalescent homes or shelters, so at least it doesn't go to waste. But only making half the recipe would also be a good way to go. Thank you for commenting! You made my day!
ReplyDeleteKaren - My mother lives with me and she would cook every night when she first moved in. I gained 20 lbs almost overnight. I finally had to tell her that I wasn't going to eat all that food anymore and I was going back to my low-carb way of eating. I hated to do it because making dinner was her contribution to our household, but I didn't want to turn into an Oompa-Loompa!
ReplyDeletebrittneehenry - It is a lot harder to cook for just one. I've always had my kids to eat the leftovers and sometimes I wish there would be leftovers more often as I always have to struggle with what to take for lunch the next day...lol.
ReplyDeletekathryn - Yay! A comment from you! How wonderful. I know how scarce time has been for you so I'm thrilled to death that you visited with me. I look forward to the day when you have all the time in the world to share your droll wit and sarcastic wisdom with us every single day again. I miss Clinton too...give him a hug for me and say hello to all the other little voices in your head from me!
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