I’m fully aware that this is going to come across as yet another millennial who has “discovered” cooking.

And yes, I’ve been cooking more recently.

But it’s not some brand new discovery of things like cost, the joy of producing something new for yourself, or health. It’s just a re-evaluation of how I choose to spend my time.

Food has always been somewhat of an inconvenience for me, if I’m not spending lavishly on a meal for the express purpose of having a great experience prepared by professional chefs, that is. But for everyday meals, it has always been more efficient to order in or eat out than to spend time preparing a meal. It purely came down to the tradeoff between money and time. Theoretically, it would be worth more to me to work the extra hour, and then spend a portion of that labor on food, than to waste the hour not working and cooking instead.

But as I’ve gotten more protective of how I spend my own time, including with the people I spend it with, I’m finding myself with lots of free, non-work hours, with which I have the time to invest in things that are important to me. I’ve been practicing the piano more, reading more, and now, cooking more.

So, here’s to the grilled shiitake mushrooms and lamb chops I fried up this evening. Couldn’t have gotten a better meal at Peter Luger.