In a food slump...
I find myself in a food slump... normally, I love to cook, love to eat, and love to try new things... right now I could care less.
Is there a food that snaps you out of it? One that takes you back?
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15 Comments:
Roast chicken with quinoa and sauteed greens? Choucroute garnie? Are you a baker? I find making a batch of bread is relaxing and rewarding. How about a big pot of spicy chili. If none of these ideas grab you, take yourself out to your favorite restaurant and enjoy being served. I go through this phase sometimes too, and after a few nights of coffee and toast for dinner I snap right out of it! You will soon be back in the groove.
ride&cook at 9:19AM on 10/05/09
@happy - is it that you've lost your appetite? or are you going through a trying emotional time?
pooch at 9:47AM on 10/05/09
When I get into a rut I either go with it until I am bored with whatever and that forces me to think of something new, or I look for a new way to cook whatever I have available. For example, if I've been overdoing the chicken-and-rice combos, I might try a lemon chicken with dill rice. If I really don't feel like cooking, I make a big batch of some soup or stew and just have that for a few days. Sometimes, you need a break and I use the non-cooking time to read a book, clean out my wardrobe, or knit something. Or I tell myself "fine, I don't want to cook, so I will eat up all the frozen boxes meals I have" which helps me clean out the freezer. I tend to box up the last portion or two of whatever I have and put it away for a day I'm in a hurry, and if I'm in a no-cooking slump, that counts.
I also have some go-to foods that take minimal work but make multiple portions, if I want to cook a little but without thinking. Potatoes roasted with fennel and bay leaves; ratatouille; quickie veggie chili; meatballs (frozen) with chutney sauce (jarred); and so on. So I feel like I am cooking but it takes little brain power.
morgancain at 10:13AM on 10/05/09
I was just where you are! Normally, I cannot get enough of baking (and some cooking), but for over a month and a half, I really could not have cared less whether or not I baked or cooked, and I even lived on hot dogs and sandwiches, because they were easy to make.
Frankly, the only thing that got me out of it was the change in the seasons. Suddenly, it got very chilly, and the leaves started to change (I love the autumn!) and I suddenly had the urge to bake pumpkin bread, and that seems to have done the trick! That was a couple of weekends ago, and now I making cookies and noodles and other good things again. Not as much as I was before, but more than while I was in a slump.
Never fear, something will come along and get you out of it. You cannot hold a devoted baker/cook down for too long!
Traveller at 11:31AM on 10/05/09
I think @ride&cook hit the nail on the head -- maybe these are the times that a nice trip to a great restaurant, choosing a dish you may never have attempted at home, feeling "treated" and "served", would be the perfect cure. Awaken your tastebuds with something fabulously prepared...and then try to recreate the experience at home -- with your own twist? I know when I'm feeling slumpish I tend to go for something ethnically different from what I'd normally serve. Being Italian, my weekly repertoir tends toward a lot of the foods I grew up with and are familiar and easy (pastas, etc.) but then I've got to shake things up and figure out a way to make it interesting again, and I'll jerk some chicken and serve it with coconut rice and fried plantains...or I'll get regional and do a crab boil.
juliebugsmama at 11:43AM on 10/05/09
I get this way periodically. I find that a few days (or weeks) of a bland food diet really helps me bounce back again.
AnnieNT at 12:03PM on 10/05/09
Events and entertaining are a great way to build your enthusiasm - experiment with new ideas for Halloween, Thanksgiving, etc. I also have revved up my culinary gears by inviting some guests over for dinners tied to TV or DVD showings - I used to do Sopranos dinners that were big hits with friends, now I'm doing some Mad Men 60's menus - including a Julia Child dinner.
MMinNYC at 12:51PM on 10/05/09
I live a very sedentary existence, so I find that if I'm losing interest in food, some kind of invigorating exercise will snap me out of it. Back home it would be hiking up little peak... just a couple hours and you're on top of a mountain! This is less easily achieved in Brooklyn, so I try to apply the general philosophy of doing something that not only spikes my heartrate and totally wears me out, but also is just really enjoyable.
semarr at 1:20PM on 10/05/09
I like the ideas... I mean... how long can a foodie really not cook? I havent been out in a while. I will try the service thing. There is a nice place here in town called 5 Sences... I think I will go and get served... I am going to go... ask for the best waiter,,, ask to speak to the chef, and simply say I am not in a hurry, I dont want a menu, I just want to be awakened.
happyeats at 7:01PM on 10/05/09
Go to a new market, or a supermarket in a different neighborhood, you might get inspired or at least intrigued by a new ingredient.
I go through phases too. That's why I couldn't become a chef!
Carioca at 7:52PM on 10/05/09
When I'm in a slump I like to pick an ingredient and list out a bunch of different ways to use it and then try one. Last year I was in a bad slump and decided to have a pumpkin week where I made 7 different dishes that had pumpkin in them. Granted, that was a bit extreme, but it did wonders for my slump!
fujimama at 9:08PM on 10/05/09
Sometimes you just need to give yourself a break and not overthink it. Stress or need for rest can put you in a funk.
A few days of super simple meals or soup and some rest usually sparks me back up again. But I'm usually glad for the break and lazy cooking for those few days too.
Alternate idea- take a favorite food, a treat or indulgence and make a favorite meal.
CJ McD at 1:23AM on 10/06/09
Smoke a joint.
chardonnay at 5:50AM on 10/06/09
Heh.
alosha7777 at 3:40PM on 10/06/09
Tried to post this earlier tin the week when the system was being uncooperative:
Here's an idea you might want to try - "cupboard roulette":
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/07/dining/07appe.html?hpw
morgancain at 10:51AM on 10/07/09