The best part of cooking a savory dinner is dropping sliced onions and minced garlic into a pan of hot oil.
There is nothing, to me, that compares to the olfactory and auditory aspects of this experience. It feels like joy and relief; it means I’m going to be eating something amazing soon, and it means I’m actually cooking instead of what I used to do (anything but cooking). It pleases the senses and it scratches the ‘Am I a self-actualized individual?’ itch.
For my social media-addled brain, however, there’s actually something I like better than this holy experience. And that is…
Watching someone cook onion and garlic on TikTok with a birds-eye camera view.
I yearn for the skillset, time, and energy that it takes to be successful at making food content. But I don’t know how on earth to get the camera angles right. I know for a fact I would not even be able to operate a camera while cooking, because when there is more than one pan/pot on the stove I start to panic, and when things get hot I literally get scared. Like why is the oil spitting at me? That literally hurts and is scaring me right now?
And for all the admiration I have for someone’s ability to cook well and produce video content well, above all I think I appreciate the creators who are able to do so while maintaining their charming individuality. Like, wow… you can do all that, AND you’re funny and endearing and seem like such a lovely person?
AND! You’re like 30 seconds away from successfully influencing me to buy a fucking mandolin? Since when did everyone have those and since when did I crave a sandwich with razor-thin cucumber slices?!
It’s amazing… Sometimes I think I want this. It’s hard to actually get started and then continue to produce content, although I also know that if I really put my mind to it I could probably do it (even if I never gained any following from it). But my affinity for this kind of thing ultimately isn’t a motivating force in and of itself. I know better than to chase things because of what they *seem* to promise. Fool’s gold and yadda yadda. And that’s okay… but wait did you, for a moment, want me to try it anyways? Let me know if you do… just for my ego’s sake… love you!
i was never into cooking videos until recently when i was #broke vibes and started looking up cheap meal prep hacks and i got so into the organization aspect of it all.... like to have one huge day of gathering ingredients and cooking and packaging them etc etc it felt good to follow the formula. the gadgets seem so fun, def want a mandolin but NEED a salad spinner.
also obsessed with wishbonekitchen on tiktok.. u need to get into her if u havent yet.. shes a private chef in the hamptons over the summer (its my second summer following her and it feels like watching season 2 of my fav cooking show) so i would recommend tuning in if you want more content with a "how the hell do you have the time and energy for all that" aspect.
YAY FRONTSEAT IS BACK!
Someday maybe