I love to cook and bake, and am very good at it. It's a creative outlet for me, and I do enjoy other people enjoying my food. It's more complicated now that I'm only cooking for myself (and cook another meal for teen, who rarely eats what I eat). Most of the time we go out to eat, as it saves time and stuff rotting in the fridge. And I also cook for my elderly dog and follow the Dr. Pitcairn recipes generally, and she's doing really well on it.

Yesterday I cooked a meal for a friend and took it over to her and we ate together and chatted. Besides my dog's stew, I roasted vegetables and made a maple cornmeal pudding and then baked salmon with a composite butter. I spent all day in the kitchen and it was serene-inducing. In general, cooking for myself feels like taking care of myself in a way that just feeding does not. I wish I did it more often. I definitely think there is something to culinary therapy.