Of Donuts and Dr Sous

Donuts.  I love them.  LOVE them.  If there were only two foods I could eat for the rest of my life, the first would be tomatoes and the second would be donuts.  My favorite is Dunkin' Donuts' strawberry frosted.  I could eat a dozen this second, with a cup of really strong black tea.  I'm slobbering all over my keyboard thinking about it.

It really is a wonder I don't weigh a thousand pounds.  Food is comfort to me.  When I'm happy, I eat something new and exciting.  When I'm sad, I eat comfort food.  Tomato soup or macaroni and cheese are two big go-to's.  When I'm stressed, I eat a lot of carbs.  When I have PMS, I eat everything in sight.  I cook to relax.  It's my hobby.  I don't stress about how something will turn out when I experiment; I can usually make even the worst mistakes edible.  There is something methodical and soothing about chopping vegetables to make a soup or watching as something sautes.  Recently I learned how to decorate cakes.  It's difficult to do well, and I practice a lot, but I'm getting better than your average amateur.  The repetition and the attention to detail make me temporarily forget whatever is weighing on my mind.  While I am creating something, be it a dinner or a dessert, I am completely immersed in making it the best I can make it be.  If it's a flop, no big deal.  Nothing was riding on it.

Ironically, my brother is a chef.  I used to work with him a lot, and I loved it.  He was the boss, but he didn't give me a hard time about anything.  He just told me what he wanted, answered my questions about how he wanted it done, and left me to do it.  I really liked doing wedding catering with him.  I never felt stressed while we were working.  I know he was, but I never felt it.  I just did what needed to be done, cooked what needed to be cooked and ate what I could.   And I looked snazzy in my black chef coat, of course.

I think the next food I will attempt to conquer is donuts.  Mom sometimes makes them, but I want to learn on my own.  I want to figure them out and then make my take on them.  After I'm done I will probably need to join Jenny Craig, but it will be fun.  Hopefully I don't burn my kitchen down.