Cooking time!

In the spirit of nonsenseness... well, more randomness than anything... i was wondering yesterday about the origins of cooking. If you're wondering, i can't cook for nuts, but i'm pretty hooked to cooking shows, be it Nigella's sultry kitchen exploits, Jamie Oliver's lisping dialogue or Anna Olsen's sugary creations.


And so i found myself thinking, food being so central to who i am as a person, what ppl would have been like before cooking began. I mean, 'cavemen' (please excuse my ignorance of the various historical phases, Neolithic, Paleolithic etc which names i still weirdly remember but have no clue anymore what actually went on in those long ago days) would probably have eaten raw meat or just raw vegetables, fruits and nuts to survive. What an inspiring meal to come home to after a long day trying to escape saber tooth tigers and befriend wooly mammoths without success. I mean, raw meat? I have friends who thrive on rare steaks but blood oozing out of my meal is not the least bit appetizing to me. I like the idea of mixing herbs and spices to create the perfect marinade, sauce or gravy; grilling a piece of meat at just the right temperature so that it's tender and yet fully cooked, but not burnt (i hate burnt food); and of course, beautifully decorated desserts with swirls and dollops and twists of (pick your favourite sweet snack).


And that's when it hit me, if people in the modern age (me included) stop learning to cook, we may lose all the stuff that the cavemen learned over the years. We may have to get back to eating raw meat, vegetables, fruits and nuts. No trace of tumeric or garlic or (god forbid) that wonderfully aromatic curry leaf, may grace our salivating mouths anymore. Yes, it's an extreme thought... that ppl would forget how to cook. But in these days of fast food and frozen pizza, it's not too unthinkable and it freaks me out!


So, to avoid reliance on raw foods, and to decrease the chances of being ruled by chefs who in the near future may hold one of our main sentient pleasures in the palms of their skilled hands (the rest of us being totally clueless about making our own meals), i shall try to learn to cook (shudder)... yes, i shall not even restrict my learning to baking, but instead attempt grilling and boiling, to ensure that my taste buds will be forever sated and content. Here's to talking nonsense and eating well!


Devena