Helicopter Cooker

In case you don’t know me personally, I’m all about creativity. Whether that include paper and crayons, photoshop and web URL’s, food, or a bucket of paint or sidewalk chalk, I basically live and breathe creativity. One of the things that was definitely lacking in my year abroad was the ability to expound my creativity in the kitchen. Cooking in China was basically impossible, and so not worth it (as the food from the cafeteria satisfied any and every hunger craving…except pizza). Thus, the one thing that I really have enjoyed since being back in the states has been becoming a creative cooker. But I've realized that it's come with a price (and no, not just the grocery bill).

It’s not that I’m a control freak. I can wear mismatched socks. I'm comfortable with ambiguity. I lived in China for a year (land of the ambiguous). I'm definitely not a gossip queen either. I just like to know what’s going on. It's not that I'm nosy. It's just that I genuinely care.

It's not that I can't follow directions (although rice and I have had our misfortunes a time or two...or four). I can assemble things from boxes,install new programs, and get myself from point A to B when mildly guided by Google maps. I understand that so often in cooking comes the instruction “allow to simmer for 5 minutes” or “let stand for 5 minutes”, or the worst "set on rack until cool". It has something to do with flavors and tasting delicious (but really, who wants to wait an additional 25 minutes for the banana bread deliciousness to "cool"?). These instructions emphasize the part of the process where one allows the food to just be. But inside of me there is this impulse to lift that lid right up and give whatever is in there a stir. Just to make sure. I can't leave my cooking food alone until it has reached it's fullness of potential. It's kind of like a mother who can't leave her baby, and opts to sleep on the floor instead of returning to her own, much more cozy bed. Due to this impulsive behavior of mine, I thought I would take the liberty of classifying myself into the category of Helicopter Cooker. That's right. It drives me absolutely crazy (yes, Kuh-RAZY) that my current oven has no window. How am I supposed to know if my cookies, or bread, or cake, is rising properly!? It's almost a catastrophe every time.

It's not that I'm obsessive. I can let things go pretty easily (most of the time). Where for most working mothers, these 5 minutes of simmer time would be used for washing up some dishes, setting a table, or wiping up a snotty nose. But these five minutes for me are super unproductive. No matter the pile of dishes or piles of books, that simmering food and I make eye contact every 15 seconds, allowing my mind to be severely distracted from the secondary task at hand. It's just me and the food.

This can't be healthy behavior. Maybe it's really a big metaphor for how I'm physically unable to let my life just simmer, how I have to be constantly on the move. I refuse to stick to a pot, and therefore will not allow my food to be the same way. Oh gosh...thats deep.

Let's just pretend it's because I don't want my curry to burn.

Good thing I have a long time until I have to worry about being a helicopter parent.