Does anyone else love to cook?

With so many fast food, restaurant and take out options nowadays, it seems like the value of a home cooked meal has been lost. I don’t know about most families, but my mother made every single meal from scratch while I was growing up. To me, it’s just second nature now. That’s how I was raised. But I can honestly say that I love the satisfaction that cooking brings me. There is nothing quite like mixing ingredients together to make something creative and delicious. I love trying new recipes that I find online, or just making them up on my own. My favorite thing to cook is pasta any kind, any noodle shape, with any type of sauce, meat and/or vegetables. I eat pasta like people should drink water.

I think one of the reasons I appreciate cooking for myself now is because in college, meal times were mostly spent in the dining halls, at Chipotle or some other fast option, or with a bowl of Ramen and some potato chips at midnight during study breaks. I worked evenings all four years that I attended Ohio University, and usually just would not feel like making a proper meal at 10 pm after a long day of classes, meetings and work and before starting homework that would definitely take me into the wee hours of the morning. College students quickly learn that Jimmy John’s Subs and Dominos Pizza delivery will always win when up against using precious moments to cook that could alternatively be used for an hour nap.

As a newly-budding adult, however, ice cream and microwavable mini pizzas are not considered suitable nourishment or sustenance anymore although my friends still in college will tell you otherwise.

I do miss Chipotle, but I refuse to drive to Fargo just to enjoy a delicious burrito when I can very easily make my own. At the end of the day, sitting down at the table in the comfort of your own home or on the floor in front of the television, if you’re anything like me beats waiting in long lines or being seated at too close tables at any restaurant. Plus, the amount of self-fulfillment one gets from cooking something absolutely wonderful is unparalleled. Next time you’re running a little late or just utterly exhausted and are thinking about stopping at Subway, take a second look into your refrigerator and see if there is something you can make quickly yet deliciously at home instead. Although, if you just really want to get Subway, I suggest the rotisserie chicken.

Mavec is a reporter for the Tribune