What do you do when you're not doing food?
I've noticed over the years that people who are really into food, whether it be cooking or restaurant-hopping, tend to share similar other interests. So, what else do you like to do? Besides cooking and eating, I mostly like to...
* Read -- I've been known to neglect all else for a good book.
* Research -- amateur genealogist for 15 years.
* Garden -- another way to nurture, just like cooking.
* Travel -- a gypsy at heart, there's nowhere I wouldn't go.
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28 Comments:
Pretty much the same.
I garden, I read, I research, I road trip, I read the food blogs and I experiment with baking and cooking.
I also like to play with a lot of computer hardware.
JerzeeTomato at 1:02PM on 11/05/07
Aside from cooking and eating? Reading is high on the list, as was gardening before I moved into a city apartment. The ability to travel is hugely important to me and I make a point of wandering off about three times a year. I also spend a fair amount of time listening to music. Of course all of these things are very easy to do within the context of cooking and/or eating... :-)
Ann Fisher at 1:07PM on 11/05/07
Reading: Sometimes about food, as I just finished Robert Irvine's Mission: Cook!, othertimes not, as I just started drummer Neil Peart's Roadshow, documenting Rush's 30th Anniversary tour. Yes, he writes about food in his travel books, too, and calls himself Chef Elwood when talking about cooking for others.
Computing: I started programming computers in 1976 and it's still a hobby of mine. My 17-year-old has his own web design business and I build restaurant web sites, so yeah, that has to do with food now too ...
Politics: Kinda by choice? My wife is up for Mayor in tomorrow's election, and actually has excellent chances. We've decided I need a shirt that says "First Cook".
Ok, so it's all about the food now. I'm obsessed, what else can I say?
LunaPierCook at 1:23PM on 11/05/07
Good question! Like those so far, am an avid reader -- biographies and cookbooks are my favorites, and classic mysteries (Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler). Family (and pet!) responsibilities keep me pretty much homebound, but hope to travel someday. Collect hats and vintage items, from patterns to costume jewelry and Depression glass.
hatlady at 1:32PM on 11/05/07
I too love to read. I also write.
I like to ride horses (I especially love to compete in horse trails, though it's been years since I've been able to. Loooong stories. Yes, story plural.)
I love to travel perhaps more than anything. Even around my home area, I like to set out little trips to "find" things for myself - cute parks or small markets. I love walking through unfamiliar parts of unfamiliar cities.
I love art, too, (I majored in English and art history at school), so exhibition-viewing is always another fun time.
Of course, I divide most of my time between one job and two unpaid internships. So I'm sort of boring right now. :)
Karyn
http:llwww.threepotato.blogspot.com
KarynMC at 1:35PM on 11/05/07
Music! I love classical and indie rock, so if I'm not fooding, I'm playing my violin, at the symphony (not often anymore...stupid tuition stole my savings!), reading pitchfork.com and listening to woxy.com, and finding shows to go to so that I can check out a new band.
Reading: I love Paul Auster and put my project of reading all his books on the back burner. I have to get that one back on track.
charm city cupcake at 1:39PM on 11/05/07
Another reader here. I'm a bit of a music junkie too - I can't actually play anything, but I own way too many albums/CDs/hard drives. I like seeing live music whenever possible, from the symphony to club shows. Since I work on the web, I'm a bit of a tech junkie as well. I also may play the occasional video game, but I'll deny it under oath.
corycm at 1:39PM on 11/05/07
I also love reading-sometimes it's food oriented, sometimes chick-lit, and sometimes historical. I was into fashion for years, as that was my job. But 2 years ago I had an epiphany-fashion sucks, so I left. I now take food classes, do extensive walking and exploring in Manhattan, babysit on occasion for my 2 year old granddaughter, go to museums, see artsy movies, spend time with friends I haven't connected with in years, and just enjoy what life has to offer. I plan to either work in the food area, or if that doesn't work out, I will volunteer my time to something of meaning to me( I will probably do that no matter what)
Mich23 at 2:19PM on 11/05/07
When I'm not eating, I work on a meal calendar website (mealoutlaw.com) for fun, so I guess you might say I think about food when I'm not eating it.
jrtipton at 3:22PM on 11/05/07
I chase two little kids around and volunteer at their schools. I also read - some days I can't wait for the kids to go to bed so I can get back to my book!
Stephanie at 3:39PM on 11/05/07
To Mich23: Your life sounds wonderful!
hatlady at 4:09PM on 11/05/07
I'm in a nutrition related profession. When not working, I can be found reading & drinking coffee at a local bar (house?) or spending time with gandkids which might include cooking together :)
JEP at 4:10PM on 11/05/07
Besides cooking and eating, I mostly like to...read pretty much anything I pick up. Even if it's bad, I just have to know what happened! I collect vintage recipe books (I read those too!) and vintage kitchen implements which I hope to turn into artsy displays someday. I also adore music! Almost any genre has at least a song or two I enjoy, but country, 80's pop and rock and jazz tend to be my mainstays. I love gardening and travel, yet since my children came, I haven't found the time to indulge these two passions very much.
coffeefrappe at 4:18PM on 11/05/07
I read: nonfiction (social science, economics, etc.), classics &, of course, cookbooks.
I take care of my pets -- 12 cats, 2 dogs, 400gal. of fish tanks -- a job in itself.
I'm pretty politically active & do some things to support a charity that works with orphans internationally.
KitchenHawk at 5:43PM on 11/05/07
I read and write quite a bit. Lately I've been trying to read only books in Dutch (except for online stuff, obviously) because I'm trying to bring my level up to fluency. I'm into languages generally, speak Danish fluently and pretty ok in Norwegian and French as well, passive understanding of Swedish and German.
I ride my bike everywhere. It's a Gazelle Primeur, really heavy and basic but lots of fun to ride. I'm trying to become completely confident about fixing it myself.
Otherwise I listen to lots of music, hang out with my friends and partner, travel between Britain and the Netherlands and try to maintain full lives in both places, spend lots of time on my own writing and dream of getting a dog.
caley at 6:59PM on 11/05/07
Besides food and eating, I love reading as well. Cookbooks, food related books, food history, fiction, biographies... anything really. I also support a nice magazine addiction- they are all food and entertainment related.
I love pop culture. I'm a big fan of Entertainment Weekly magazine and website. I am a tv addict and movie buff. Turner Classic Movies is one of my favorite channels.
I too enjoy travel. I wish I had the time and means to do it more often.
I surf the web too much and also enjoy reading many food blogs.
I adore big, goofy dogs like Labs and have a soft spot in my heart for the manatee.
Erinay77 at 7:26PM on 11/05/07
Wow I am an oddball here.
I like motorsports
outdoors
and
live music
javajoe79 at 9:20PM on 11/05/07
I also like to read. Books, papers, certain sports magazines, technology magazines... Cookbooks!
What I also do is run. I'm a runner and I'm usually running when I don't have anything else to do, but mainly I'm training for a race. I also do yoga. I really just like pushing myself to the ultimate limit, then turning around and doing it a few weeks later.
I surf the web all the time, too. Food blogs, news blogs, email, random stuff.
ChristinaINP at 10:16PM on 11/05/07
In between cooking, I also like to read. I am obsessed with the New York Times. I also love reading cookbooks, usually when I am in bed before I fall asleep.
I like to run and try to do it most days of the week.
I play the violin in one of the orchestras on campus.
Besides that, I am a 3rd year medical student and currently doing rotations in the hospital, so my free time has been somewhat limited lately.
Everyone here has such great hobbies, which fits with my theory that people who like food are generally very fun!
Jj6407 at 10:42PM on 11/05/07
Avid reader as well! Food writing, cookbooks, every cuisine magazine I can get my hands on.
Passionate about gardening - everything. Just getting into orchids. It's a long winter in MI with your nose pressed against the window staring at the barren landscape of your flowerbeds.
Practice yoga every day. I have a meditation space in my home.
Photography, water color, metal working. Collect art and art glass I can afford. Love to visit galleries and museums.
Make candles in the fall and winter when I'm shut in.
Animal rights activist - love love love dogs - my dream is to have a little girl weimereiner named Ruby
Jazz, alt rock and a bit of an addiction to Sirius First Wave
Love cruising out on road trips to brew pubs because we also brew beer.
We like to say we're amateur chefs but professional eaters!
It does seem quite apparent from all the comments that those who love food and love to cook really have a creative bent to their personalities in so many other ways. Cooks are good people!
frederika at 12:35AM on 11/06/07
There are some real themes emerging here; interesting...
I'm a traveler, start the engine or order the tickets and I'm on board. I used to read quite a bit but I think (aside from reading cookbooks cover to cover) I've transitioned into a web-surfer much like ChristinaINP; food blogs, news blogs, email, random stuff.
My musical tastes run to Blues and R&B. Socially, I hang out with people forty years my junior. It keeps me thinking and feeling young and they seem to appreciate having "experience and counsel" in the arena...
Yes, I love to dazzle people with my cooking prowess (entertain).
czken at 5:16AM on 11/06/07
I'm a reader too...although most of the time it leans towards magazines because they are easier to put down & get back to. I love doing crafty things...gardening...camping & hiking...listening to music. Like coffeefrappe, I also collect vintage kitchen implements, some of which I keep, and some I sell on Ebay.
I love to entertain as well....and I don't like help when I'm cooking...pull up a seat & chat...let me do the cooking!
mepolo at 1:00PM on 11/06/07
I enjoy traveling.
I play mmorpgs such as Lord of the Rings Online. One of my toons is a cook.
I like to read Science Fiction/Fantasy.
Hiking.
Movies.
People watching.
Volunteer for a local UNICO group that holds a carnival fundraiser every year. I work in the food booth. Does that still count?
Bosmer at 2:23PM on 11/06/07
I mostly work (Medical Billing and I own a coffee house) and clean. Im a little compulsive about the cleaning thing. I spend my summers (and every other Christmas and spring break) with my niece Taylor who is the light of my life. I do alot of catering for events locally so basically, aside from bossing people around, watching my Thursday night fix of Grey's Anatomy, I cook. Alot.
ChelleyD01 at 7:04PM on 11/06/07
another reader here, mostly literary/ british fiction, tons of blogs and magazines, and food writing. i also am an avid theatergoer and work out at the gym most days.
and -- proud mother to a very charming and handsome cat.
cybercita at 9:34PM on 11/06/07
School.
And when I'm not schooling, reading.
Christina at 9:56PM on 11/06/07
Graduate school - that's work, I know, but it's my whole life right now...
Exercise is really important to me, so between school and riding my bike and working, that is when I am interested in cooking dinner and reading - if I don't fall asleep :)
Littlebluesiren at 11:12PM on 11/06/07
I go to uni (studying animal science and hope to get a job in the agricultural industry)
I am a fanatic exerciser- cycling, walking, hiking, long distance running, competitive horseriding and next year i'll be taking a personal training course so I can do it all the time - I love it that much!
I'm a horse geek
I love my music
I love reading and writing (anything that takes my fancy)
I dabble in photography
choc_puddin at 4:04AM on 11/07/07