Remember how 2020 started and took off in the worst way possible? It’s 2021, and it’s no different. We initially found innovative ways to keep our sanity in check however, it didn’t last long. We slowly slipped into a constant state of tiredness. Despite this state, we have to manage our basic needs of sustenance. The dreaded one being cooking.
When the first lockdown happened, cooking was something that took a new form- an improved and exciting form (what were we thinking?). It was a time to explore our culinary brilliance. Home chefs arose and newbies ventured in. It was a great unified calling. The fancy, exquisite recipes, the vessels that saw the light of day, the vegetables that never knew could be innovated- everything had life. The amount of bread people made! It was like a yeast festival. We all had time, patience and excitement that were neatly balanced. So what happened now? What tipped the scale?
I experimented with a lot of baked goods. Tried making different goodies (for the first time) and felt pumped. But, as the months passed with the pandemic giving no respite, the joy of baking took a steady decline. I now wonder and laugh at all the elaborate and tedious recipes I undertook. It’s as if, kitchen torture was therapeutic. I even picked up simple dishes and made them in the most complicated way possible, with finesse, elegance and all that crap! Well, now it’s ‘effortless’, ‘easy’ and ‘quick’ keywords in recipes that catch my attention. Not to forget, economical.
From listing out ingredients for the next purchase to buying exotic materials for trials we are now at a position where we’ll scan our fruit basket or fridge and go, “ hmm.. this looks old… better make something out of it.” The other day I found two overripe bananas that were beyond redemption. I sliced them up and mixed them with basic cake ingredients in a mixer and baked a cake. While the baker in me screamed sacrilege, I quietly ignored and ate the cake. It wasn’t bad at all.
How about those one-pot recipes? My god, brilliant! It’s as if those one-pot pastas were invented by a lazy visionary. These one-pot tricks always existed but probably gained attention in our pandemic era. Looks like it will continue to stay for a long long time.
How can I not mention the evolution of our insta-worthy food pics. Taking countless pics of fancy food that we cooked became a bore in less than a year. Now, we might click one to remind ourselves of a cooking expedition, but its colours, lighting, contrast can take a hike. Presentation, you ask? Oh sure, it’s presented on a plate or my hand which would be tossed into my mouth right after the click.
So, what is it? Is it the situation, familiarity or anxiety that has brought this change in our cooking adventures? It’s probably everything. It’s one hot pot of languish, uncertainty and monotony that has made us this way. It would take time to simmer down but until then let’s ensure that the pot doesn’t boil over. That’s extra cleaning we don’t want to do!
