Two Hobbies in One Video

Bad French, Good Dish

As I say in the video in French, Fridays are my French days. I have my class in the morning and then I try to do some reading or watch a movie in French. Today I made ratatouille.  I did quite a bit of research for this dish. I probably looked at ten different recipes, even the rat’s high-brow interpretation from the Disney movie. Mine came out very well although I made much more than I expected. Just what I am going to do with six liters of ratatouille is something I haven’t figured out just yet.  Any suggestions?

I’ve always wanted to go to music school and cooking school. I’m a better cook than musician but that’s only because I’m a completely lousy piano player, not that I show much promise in the kitchen. Now that I’ve written that last sentence I realize there’s a bit of false modesty in saying that I can’t cook well. You’ll forgive my brief lapse into false modesty because much of the time I am forced to be modest because any other stance would be an outright lie regarding my abilities. I practice a lot in the kitchen so I’ve improved. I used to practice the piano a lot, too. I got better when I practiced a lot on the piano but it was barely perceptible, at least as far as I could tell. With cooking I can actually taste the improvements I make.

Cooking for me is just a great way to relax and clear my head.  It’s much more than the simple act of cooking, first you have to think of something to cook and then search out how to pull it off.  It’s also another phase I’m passing through but I have to say that it’s a highly useful phase.  I spent a lot of time and effort learning jiu-jitsu yet I hardly ever have to the opportunity to beat someone up. I suppose that “phase” isn’t really the correct word. The things I dedicate myself to are gaps in my education that I’m trying to fill. Learning to cook these days is very easy.  There are hundreds of professional videos on YouTube as well as thousands more made by inspired amateurs covering every possible dish on the planet.