Some weeks ago, I cooked dinner one night for myself and my parents. My mom had sent me a chicken recipe she wanted to try, and I decided it was something I could do on my own. In the end, it turned out well — although it needed a bit more salt.
After my family and I were done eating, I joked to my dad that at least now I know I won’t die of hunger when I live in an apartment with my friends next school year. He said it was good I was getting some practice.
In retrospect, a part of me has always been into cooking. As a kid, I had a phase where all I would watch on TV were cooking shows like “Chopped” and “Guy’s Grocery Games.” I liked seeing chefs exercise their creativity to come up with dishes using limited or unusual ingredients.
Moreover, I have culinary influences in my family, like my uncle and my father’s aunt. Both live in the States, away from my home in Puerto Rico, and both are into cooking. For as long as I can remember, I always jumped at the chance to serve as their sous chef or second in command when they came to visit and cook for my family, and I still do.
For many, cooking may seem boring. However, as I prepare to live outside of a dorm, I’m forcing myself to think of cooking as something more than a necessary life skill. After all, I enjoyed making chicken for my family.
So, since I will have to get used to cooking, I figured it would be best to think of reasons that would make it interesting for me and serve as motivation for doing so almost every day.
The first and most obvious reason that comes to mind is the ability to control my diet. I can focus on learning to prepare dishes with heavy amounts of protein and healthy portions of carbs and fats. Lately, I’ve been trying to get more exercise, and I usually take advantage of the walkability of IU’s campus, but none of that will help if I don’t stick to eating well.
Secondly, I want to learn how ingredients work together so I can improvise. So far, I’ve been coming across simple recipes, which I save with the intention of making them, but I know I will also get tired of following instructions. What I think would truly make cooking fun is the freedom to play around with ingredients. As a longtime drummer, I enjoy playing much more now that I can play a range of rhythms or drum fills on the spot than when I was exclusively looking for sheet music.
Cooking for others is perhaps the most interesting reason I could come up with for learning how to cook. This past Father’s Day, I helped my mom make eggplant lasagna for the whole family. She found the recipe and prepared the ingredients, while I took care of most of the cooking. Not only did I have fun during the cooking process, but it also brought me happiness to see my relatives enjoy the food I made for them.
For a while now, I’ve been telling my friends that I will eventually host a “Puerto Rican food night” at my apartment. This is something I fully intend to do at some point because, not only do I want to cook for my friends, but I would also like to teach them a little about my culture using food as a medium. For example, I could make them one of my favorite dishes that my grandmother cooks, such as “asopao” (Puerto Rican chicken stew), or some “bistec encebollado” (Puerto Rican steak and onions) with a side of rice and beans.
Considering these reasons for cooking more often during the summer and, eventually, in my apartment, I think everyone should strive to look for what else they can get from the mundane. College life is intertwined with independence, and doing everyday chores independently can get tiresome, so I encourage everyone to be creative and try to look at everyday tasks as more than just routine.
Joaquin Baerga (he/him) is a sophomore studying journalism.
