Column: Cooking for fun as well as nutrition

So on those occasions, which sometimes seem more than 90 percent of the time, I basically throw something together and rush it onto the table.

I’m thankful for that, too. We all should be grateful for having enough to eat if we’re not having to struggle with hunger.

But of course it’s nice to feel like there is time to cook something the way you would if you weren’t racing against the clock.

Then again, sometimes the race against the clock can be half the fun.

That’s especially true if you have a comrade-in-spatulas to work alongside you.

About 20 years ago I spent nearly a year cooking a large meal (50 or so people) every Wednesday for Bible study night at church with my friend Barry.

Barry was my friend as well as a leader in the church where I was serving as pastor at the time. We shared an interest in Bible study, a number of hobbies, and a background in community newspaper work.

Barry actually owned a newspaper and ended up later being my boss for a couple of years, but that’s another story way too complicated to try to get into here. But we were good friends and both of us enjoy cooking.

During that year I started looking forward to Wednesday afternoons the way I might look forward to a round of golf or some other kind of fun outing.

It might have been work on some level, but the challenge of coming up with a menu (we usually did that by phone early Wednesday afternoon), buying the food, and then getting everything cooked and ready to serve by the time folks walked into the fellowship hall at the church was exhilarating.

I enjoyed the details of getting the food ready and appreciated the friendship and opportunity to work together as a team.

It was also an adrenaline rush.

When it all came together on time and was tasty — which was most of the time — it was a thrill.

I started cooking fairly young, which might have given me a bit of an edge. I remember cooking venison steaks over a wood fire when I was 12.

They were good, too, in case you were wondering.

Actually the “starting young” thing might be irrelevant, because some of the best cooks I know started well after I did.

Having learned to cook mainly in a camping context may explain my affinity for stews, soups, and various other “one pot” meals.

One pot to cook everything means (only) one pot to clean, after all.

Reggie Ponder is a staff writer for The Daily Advance.