Skillet in the Closet

I used to love cooking, especially when I lived in Cannon Beach, a small town along the Oregon Coast.  Part of my love for cooking at the time revolved around not having had any choice but to cook.  Cannon Beach being a small town– and a tourist trap at that– meant that the restaurants in the area were limited (both in quantity and available cuisine) and more geared toward tourists.  And, if I did do takeout, I would often drive up to Seaside located eight miles north where less expensive (and more exotic) cuisine was available.  I hated having to do that but one can have burger ‘n fries or popcorn shrimp only so often before the necessity to branch out.

When the weather turned stormy, and Highway 101 would get flooded, I would have no choice but to cook.  The simple stuff at first– grilled cheese sandwiches, mac ‘n cheese, casseroles, etc.  But I would soon explore more adventurous cooking, thanks to recipe books and websites.  And being Filipino, some of the stuff I conjured in the kitchen leaned toward my cultural foods and undoubtedly smelled very foreign to my fish ‘n chips-loving neighbors.

I was good, too.  I’d perfected (in my humble opinion) my delicious versions of Chicken Adobo, Lumpia, and Pork Menudo, to name but a few.  Granted I’d shared my masterpieces with non-Filipino friends who were very complimentary because (a) they were being very polite and/or (b) they hadn’t tasted any better.  But I was still very proud of myself.

These days, I don’t have time to cook and, dare I say, don’t really enjoy it that much.  Plus, I have a bajillion restaurants and eateries– with a myriad of cuisines– at my disposal here in town for a quick bite or easy take-out.  So, why cook?

Sigh.

Perhaps I’ll be convinced to cook again in the future.  Till then, there are at least two hundred other restaurants in town that I haven’t tried.