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SKOKIE, Ill., Dec. 14 (UPI) -- (Editor's note: Unlike past recessions, the current downturn has taken a significant toll on sectors of the economy virtually unscathed by earlier economic crises. This is the latest in a series on one family's struggle.) Here's an explanation for why my sudden, heightened interest in cooking compensates for deprivation elsewhere. If one squints, one can pretend my theory is scientific.
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I'm ambidextrous. I suppose that means my brain's right hemisphere (the creative side) and its left (the intellectual side) are close to being equally strong -- or equally weak, as the case may be. My left hand, however, is slightly dominant (which means I'm a bit more right-brained); thus, I'm slightly more creative than intellectual.
I have always worked in the left hemisphere and played just a tad harder in the right, so both sides were adequately nourished, balanced, and all was right with the world.
Although other amusements have always been artistic outlets for me, my most compelling and satisfying creative activities involve using my hands. I am most comfortable with self-expression that requires fine, deft motor skills: garment-sewing, quilting, embroidery and beading.
If I went too long -- more than a week, say -- without using my hands creatively, my children would roll their eyes because I would develop a crazed glaze in my own and lament my itchy fingers.
My kids have always known I have to touch stuff. As they were growing me up, they carefully taught me about "watcher's hands," and eyed me anxiously, knowing that I'm always one weak moment away from setting off alarms in museums.
Since last March, however, when our economic troubles began, I have had precious little time for play, so the right (creative) side has been underfed.
As most of what I have been doing lately is newswriting -- a decidedly left-brained activity -- and there's little time for much else, I discovered I felt the right side of my head drying up. I desperately needed juice.
I can, however, no longer afford to devote the time required for needlework. Although in May and June, I was sewing like a madwoman for my daughter's wedding, that all came to an abrupt halt and I have not worked with textiles for the last six months.
It's not that sewing is too expensive: I have enough fabric and paraphernalia for three lifetimes. The only issue is a lack of time. Luckily, I'm very easy on my clothes, and while I love to design garments, I care only for personal style -- not at all about fashion. Thus, for the rest of my life, I could wear only the garments I have currently and not mind one whit.
But we do have to eat, and we now eat only what I cook. Fortunately, I love to cook, and I'm told I'm pretty good at it.
I have transferred the need to work with my hands to cooking, which is less time-consuming and less difficult than sewing. The construction of a poofy asparagus-parmesan souffle is relatively easy and it doesn't have to be tailored -- it's one-size-fits-all.
If it's inherently easier to play productively with food than with textiles, then where, one might ask, is the fun part, i.e., the challenge? I find the cost-efficient preparation of flavorful, nutritious, imaginative dishes that complement and enhance one another in every meal to be challenging enough, thank you!
Happily, then, the combination of my work and my food fun ensures that my hemispheres are being fed. Fred is fed. Focused on cooking as a creative outlet, I am tactile, tactical, and practical.
