Why I Love to Cook

​I really love to cook.  I have 3 primary hobbies.  Probably my number one hobby is mountain biking, followed by 2a and 2b guitar and cooking.  I’ve already shared about my love of mountain biking and I’ll share about guitar another time.  I decided to try to put into words why I enjoy cooking so much. 
 
I’m sure part of my love of cooking comes from my love of good food.  To me, good food runs the gamut.  Great sandwiches, tacos, burgers and fries, to potato gnocchi with blue crab and perigold truffle, grilled oysters, tuna tartare, to outrageously hot chicken whether it be a wing, finger, or whole bird style,  yummy rice bowls with all sorts of great things in them, pizza, to banana crème pie, white chocolate bread pudding with raspberries, or dulce de leche.  From Restaurant August in New Orleans, to Howlin Ray’s Chicken in Los Angeles, or from Pat’s King of Steaks (or Geno’s across the street) to Chego’s in Los Angeles, or Hodad’s (for an amazing burger) in Ocean Beach, CA to Hattie B’s in Nashville (and Birmingham!).  I am all about finding good food.  I really think that the Food Network should let me come work with Guy Fiere as his scout for finding great diners, drive-ins, and dives.  Or, I could work for the show, “The Best Thing I Ever Ate,” as that would allow me to go to some of the fancy places around the country.
 
All this writing about food has gotten me really hungry.  So, I love food which has often showed in my physique.  But I think my love of food plays into why I love to cook for others.  I believe that food is one of those things that God has given us to show us what kind of God He is.  Good food is an amazing experience.  God could have given us innumerable ways to get our needed nutrition each day.  He could have had us plug into an outlet to re-charge our bodies.  He could have made us without taste buds at all and let us get our nutrients through photosynthesis or some other crazy way.  Instead, he gave us food.  We get to experience it with our eyes, nose, mouth and even our ears when it is sizzling.  Like many of the beautiful experiences He lets us enjoy, I believe He gave us food to help us know what kind of God He is.  He even uses the analogy of food in beckoning us to get to know Him.
 
Taste and see that the LORD is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!  Psalms 34:8
 
Jesus also used eating as a means of expressing how we are to know Him.
           
Then he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. Then he said, “Take this and share it among yourselves. For I will not drink wine again until the Kingdom of God has come.”  He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”  After supper he took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you.  Luke 22:17-20
God speaks to us using food because He knows that we enjoy it and we can all relate.  It is a universal part of humanity.  We enjoy good food. 
I believe that God also made us with a desire to give to others. 
You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”  Acts 20:35
 
Science has recently caught up with the Bible in that there have been multiple studies showing that human beings are “wired for generosity.”  These studies have confirmed that people who shared and gave to others experienced more happiness and fulfillment than receiving gifts.  I also believe that part of being made in God’s image is that we like to create.  Those two things combine to make me a passionate amateur chef.  I love watching cooking shows, reading cookbooks, researching cooking techniques, and then getting in the kitchen and making it happen.  I like to do it for my family and friends.  And, I enjoy the fruits of my labor as well. 
 
Feel free to share in the comments below any favorite dishes, restaurants, or places that I need to try.  Bon Appetit!