Since I stopped devouring books and using the computer much (because reading triggers migraines), I’ve been bored. I hate being bored.
Every hands-on craft I try causes wrist pain that I haven’t been able to conquer. Baking is fantastic, but consuming all that I make isn’t a smart dietary strategy. So I’ve decided cooking will be my new hobby.
Although deciding to do something I’ve never particularly liked for fun is a little weird, it makes a lot of sense. I’d love to have a hobby again. I like food, I need to eat, and eating better food would probably make me feel better.
By approaching cooking as a hobby instead of a chore, I hope it will be fun, not the high-pressure job of reforming my diet. Ideally cooking will become something I want to do, not have to do.
These are the guidelines I’ve established so I don’t exhaust myself. Is it contradictory to set goals for a hobby?
Use Simple Recipes
I’m currently taking Mark Bittman’s (aka The Minimalist) no-nonsense approach: Make better food in less time with fewer ingredients. I’m starting small with his very short cookbook, How to Cook Everything: Quick Cooking. It isn’t an overwhelming tome, but a short introduction to tasty basic recipes. A perfect housewarming gift for someone in their first apartment, the book includes variations for the more experienced or adventurous cook. I’m supplementing with The Minimalist Cooks at Home for variety.
I’ve owned it for four years and have liked the few things I’ve made from his books. Now my plan is to approach it methodically. Like Julie and Julia, where blogger Julie Powell set out to make every recipe in Julia Child’s Mastering The Art of French Cooking. The Minimalist’s goals are much less lofty, but the idea is the same.
UFS101 - 4th Reflection Topic
In 100 words, write about who your hero is and why is he/she your hero.
Heroes are not only people who risk their lives in line of duty, such as firefighters, policemen, and soldiers just to name a few. In fact, I highly commend them for their brave acts of heroism. However, my true hero is someone I have known all my life: my mother. Her acts of selflessness and courage represent what I regard as a hero.
When my mother's father passed away, she was in college. Against her mother wishes, she decided to quit school and go to work, so that she could help her mother. After deducting her living expenses, she would send the rest of her earnings to her mother. Even after my mother married, she never failed to send her mother money, as often as she could.
My mother suffered a lot during her marriage to my father, yet she remained married to him for 20 years. I witnessed many years of my father being abusive to my mother: physically and emotionally as well. Through it all, I never once heard her complain. At the time, I did not think of my mother as a hero; instead, I thought she was weak and lacked courage. Furthermore, I was angry with her for exposing us to my father's abusive nature. It was not until I became an adult that my mother finally told me the reason she had put up with my father's abuse. It was not because she was weak; in fact, it took courage and selflessness for her to remain married to my father. She did not stay with him to protect herself; she stayed with him to protect her children. Unfortunately, she believed his threats; he told her that he would kill all her children if she were to leave him.
For most of my mother's life, she lived in turmoil; yet she never lost her desire to help, to protect, or to make sacrifices for the sake of her family. Without regret, she has sacrificed all her dreams and aspirations in order to help her family. Without a doubt, I believe my mother would give up her life for her family; therefore, she deserves to be labeled a hero.
When my mother's father passed away, she was in college. Against her mother wishes, she decided to quit school and go to work, so that she could help her mother. After deducting her living expenses, she would send the rest of her earnings to her mother. Even after my mother married, she never failed to send her mother money, as often as she could.
My mother suffered a lot during her marriage to my father, yet she remained married to him for 20 years. I witnessed many years of my father being abusive to my mother: physically and emotionally as well. Through it all, I never once heard her complain. At the time, I did not think of my mother as a hero; instead, I thought she was weak and lacked courage. Furthermore, I was angry with her for exposing us to my father's abusive nature. It was not until I became an adult that my mother finally told me the reason she had put up with my father's abuse. It was not because she was weak; in fact, it took courage and selflessness for her to remain married to my father. She did not stay with him to protect herself; she stayed with him to protect her children. Unfortunately, she believed his threats; he told her that he would kill all her children if she were to leave him.
For most of my mother's life, she lived in turmoil; yet she never lost her desire to help, to protect, or to make sacrifices for the sake of her family. Without regret, she has sacrificed all her dreams and aspirations in order to help her family. Without a doubt, I believe my mother would give up her life for her family; therefore, she deserves to be labeled a hero.
