Do Your Friends Think You're Nuts Over Food?

[andiesenji]

Count me in on the Cubicle Gourmet cookbook.

I always have lots of supplies at my desk. Currently, I have Kashi Strawberry Fields cereal, tupelo honey, EVOO, kavli crackers.

We have this new guy who is freaking me out. I guess my food selections are exotic to him, and everytime he walks past my desk, he fondles my food and asks bizarre questions about it. He wanted to know where I got the Kashi. I said Kazmeier's (local supermarket - not gourmet, not health, just plain 'ol market). He said, "Oh, is that some fancy health food store?"

I walked into a meeting a few minutes later and he was talking about my cereal. I felt violated. 

Then, I brought in those crackers for my chicken salad, and he picked up that box. "Ah, more health food?" "um, no, just some crackers."

I've taken to wearing my headphones with the music turned up very loudly. He hasn't stopped harrassing me about my food - I'm hoping he'll soon take the hint.

Lord knows what would happen if I extended my condiment collection with some Sriracha.

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You could set up a booby-trap just for him. I have been known to do something similar for refrigerator raiders who would take food without asking.

Get some habanero hot sauce, carefully paint some on the outside of a package(the green variety drys almost transparent) and allow it to dry cover it with plastic wrap until you know he is coming around(so you don't get it on your own hands, then uncover it and pretend to have your attention elsewhere.

(The stuff does not have to be wet for the capsaicin to transfer to the fingers.)

That should teach him not to touch things that belong to other people. He is just plain rude. One should never, ever do this. It is insulting and demeaning.

[wattacetti]

The most embarassing thing for me is the amount of money I spend on food and ingrediants.

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Why? Spend the bucks on good ingredients and good equipment and you'll always be ready to easily churn out good product. Cut corners on either (or both) and things just get more difficult.

Money on eating out? For me, that depends on the eatery and how well things went. Sloppy cooking = waste of money regardless of what the establishment is or what calibre ingredients are used, but when things are good, I don't have a problem handing over the green.

As for whether my friends think I'm nuts, most don't because they like food as much as I do. They don't buy first-growth Bordeaux, spend $2K on knives, take 20 minutes trying to find 5 mushrooms of the same size/weight, or make demi-glace, but we still do and talk about similar things.

The cubicle monkeys that I used to work with always snickered but that never stopped them from asking when a wine, recipe or restaurant suggestion was needed (people whose only purpose in life is to deride others are always the first to come forward when they need help ). However, unlike some of you I never kept foodstuffs in my office because in a cubefarm, your place is never your own.

[mizducky]

As far as spending $600 for dinner.  What does it cost to go to a ball game so that you can eat bad franks and warm light beer ?

I know were I would rather be.

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Bingo.

People spend big bucks on all kinds of personal hobbies/obsessions/whatever. They plan vacations around major sporting or cultural events. Hell, I'm afraid to even check how much it costs these days to take a family of four to Disneyworld, and people plan their vacations around that joint all the time. Why many people--including some of the same people who think it's just jolly to blow big bucks on the Big Mouse and his kin, or a brace of ATVs or jetskis or snow skis or whatever--find it weird that some of us are willing to be spendy around our personal obsession, has never ceased to amaze me.

Heh. I think Fearless Housemate has been a little bemused by my foodie obsessions, especially my just-finished week of blogging. But when I told him that at last count my blog had been viewed over 8000 times, and sent him the link so he could check it out for himself, he was definitely impressed. He may not totally get the foodie angle as such, but as a musician he totally understands about artistic obsession. And as an entertainer he recognizes a well-executed artform and an appreciative audience when he sees one, and was suitably (and gratifyingly) complimentary to me.

Edited January 24, 2006 by mizducky (log)

[jsolomon]

I have threatened to write a cookbook "The Cubcle Gourmet."  Any takers or contributers?

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I'm in as long as the book is round, or somehow shows the round peg/square hole phenomenon I feel whenever I re-realize that, yes, I am the only one I know in a reasonable social circle.

Oh, I might also ask that we re-insert the "i" into Cubicle.

Edited January 24, 2006 by jsolomon (log)

[SuzySushi]

I have threatened to write a cookbook "The Cubcle Gourmet."  Any takers or contributers?

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Hey, Judy, if you're serious about this, I'll speak to my sister, who's a freelance copy editor and does a lot of cookbooks. (She used to be a cubicle gourmet, but now works from the comfort of home!)

[Angela Alaimo]

One reason why they don't get it is because you consume dinner, food, wine. You can't add it to your pile of accumulated stuff in order to impress the others who are as shallow and superficial as you. Not You as in any of us, You as in Them...or, You know who You are.

That's what I think. The only thing you have to show for your wonderful time is a charge on your credit card, an empty bottle, dirty dishes, and poo in the pot the next morning. And some great memories, hopefully. Guess some people know how to live in the moment and make the most of it and some just wonder how much crap they can fit into their garage before they'll have to leave the car out in the driveway.

Sign me up for the Nutpile, please. It's just too much fun living this way, esp. when I eventually get some jeans that fit...

[Shaya]

Thanks you, JGM, for starting this thread. This is exactly the reason why I had to join eGullet (note: my first post EVER! ) I think I need someone else to obsess with to take the pressure off my husband and little kids...

At work I would get either a funny look or a comment 9 days out of 10 - I could see it coming, as they would blurt out, "What is that?" (um, an avocado) or "How do you eat THAT?" (um, watch me!).

Seriously, most of the time it was ok being the class clown, but sometimes it really became tiresome and I longed for someone to have something new to share with me rather than have to answer 20 questions.

As for friends, most of them think my husband and I are crazy when we describe in great detail a meal or a special type of honey we've discovered during our travels, but I think our visit to the French Laundry last year really pushed some of them over the edge - all we did was show them the cookbook - we didn't dare tell them the cost of the meal...

Thanks to all of you who will hopefully keep me on my toes!

[Kim Shook]

Thanks you, JGM, for starting this thread.  This is exactly the reason why I had to join eGullet (note:  my first post EVER!    )  I think I need someone else to obsess with to take the pressure off my husband and little kids...

At work I would get either a funny look or a comment 9 days out of 10  - I could see it coming, as they would blurt out, "What is that?" (um, an avocado) or "How do you eat THAT?" (um, watch me!).

Seriously, most of the time it was ok being the class clown, but sometimes it really became tiresome and I longed for someone to have something new to share with me rather than have to answer 20 questions.

As for friends, most of them think my husband and I are crazy when we describe in great detail a meal or a special type of honey we've discovered during our travels, but I think our visit to the French Laundry last year really pushed some of them over the edge - all we did was show them the cookbook - we didn't dare tell them the cost of the meal...

Thanks to all of you who will hopefully keep me on my toes!

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Welcome, Shaya - this is a great place. I am fairly new to posting myself (I lurked for at least 2 years, I think). But this is a great place to be. I have made a bit of a pest of myself asking for help, and everyone has been so kind and accomodating!

[KatieLoeb]

Welcome Shaya! There are many others like you here. You're in good company.

Hey, Judy, if you're serious about this, I'll speak to my sister, who's a freelance copy editor and does a lot of cookbooks. (She used to be a cubicle gourmet, but now works from the comfort of home!)

If this isn't what the eGullet Society for Culinary Arts and Letters is for, I don't know what is. I see the germ of an idea here that is obviously the first of many. The pooled intellect and expertise of this membership is staggering, and the possibility of publications growing out of discussion here is infinite.

Future's so Bright...

[Grovite]

I catch a lot of grief from my non-Foodie friends. They don't get how I can spend hours walking around Central Market or Whole Foods. They don't understand that I have the need to spend an entire day at the Dallas Farmers Market.

They are flabbergasted that I worked hard to get two degrees, yet decided later in life to cook for a living...even though they were the ones that said I should cook way back in high school

They don't share my enthusiasm for wandering around in various restaurant supply houses, Sur La Table, Viking Culinary Arts Center or any other gadget/cookware store. They really don't get how I could spend over $100 on one knife or $250 on a sauté pan..."Hey, I bought a whole set of knives at the Wal-Mart for $29.97! Did you look at those before you wasted your money?!".

They shoot me funny looks when I break out the camera at restaurants to snap a shot of dinner. They roll their eyes when I tell them I took a 400 mile road trip just to try the barbecue at some hole-in-the-wall joint I heard about. They laugh when I speak lovingly of my "Blender Army" or that I want to paint black racing stripes on and add "Boss 302" and Mustang badges to my yellow KA Stand Mixer.

What I say to them: "At least I eat well. Now shut up and eat the dinner I cooked!"

[therdogg]

jgm, you're in Wichita, Kansas, am I right? I mean, you are probably a little out there most places but I'd think even more of a rarity in Kansas, which might explain your perplexed coworkers.

(yes, I know folks in Kansas aren't all a bunch of hicks, I live in a rural area myself, which allows me to comment in a way Mannhattanites couldn't get away with)

[azureus]

Welcome Shaya!  There are many others like you here.  You're in good company. 

Hey, Judy, if you're serious about this, I'll speak to my sister, who's a freelance copy editor and does a lot of cookbooks. (She used to be a cubicle gourmet, but now works from the comfort of home!)

If this isn't what the eGullet Society for Culinary Arts and Letters is for, I don't know what is. I see the germ of an idea here that is obviously the first of many. The pooled intellect and expertise of this membership is staggering, and the possibility of publications growing out of discussion here is infinite.

Future's so Bright...

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This idea definitely deserves its own thread! Here's a site devoted to improving office coffee: Cubicle Coffee The cook book needs a beverages section, after all.

April

[RonC]

We'll expect many more posts from you Shaya and let me add my welcome to you into the group.

Sidecar Ron

Thanks you, JGM, for starting this thread.  This is exactly the reason why I had to join eGullet (note:  my first post EVER!    )  I think I need someone else to obsess with to take the pressure off my husband and little kids...

At work I would get either a funny look or a comment 9 days out of 10  - I could see it coming, as they would blurt out, "What is that?" (um, an avocado) or "How do you eat THAT?" (um, watch me!).

Seriously, most of the time it was ok being the class clown, but sometimes it really became tiresome and I longed for someone to have something new to share with me rather than have to answer 20 questions.

As for friends, most of them think my husband and I are crazy when we describe in great detail a meal or a special type of honey we've discovered during our travels, but I think our visit to the French Laundry last year really pushed some of them over the edge - all we did was show them the cookbook - we didn't dare tell them the cost of the meal...

Thanks to all of you who will hopefully keep me on my toes!

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[RonC]

I was thinking more about Shaya's experience with the avocado and was reminded of a couple of personal experiences. A few years ago I was having breakfast with some people who were going to be in a course I was teaching in Texas. I was having lox with capers and one of the fellows looked at the capers and asked "Are those peas?" No one at the table had ever had capers before, so (obviously) I had to let everyone sample. The look on a few of the faces was classic but I'm not sure what the incident's experience was on the course.

The other experience concerns of (past) foster son that we're now legal guardian for. He has VERY severe autism and has been a member of our family for 18 years now. Because of that "membership" he's been exposed to a vast variety of foods and tastes and has developed into his own foodie world. He doesn't speak, but we're confident that he knows the diet during these last 18 years has been far superior (and certainly more varied) than it would ever had been at the institution where he was before joining us.

The "Message": Go forth and create more foodies in the world!

Sidecar Ron

Edited January 25, 2006 by RonC (log)

[jilli42]

I have a rather large condiment & food selection at my office (I have my own office & a refrigerator that I share with one other person)

My collection includes:

Siracha

pepper mill

salt

3 kinds of mustard

ketchup

2 kinds of mayo

hummus

Pickapeppa sauce

good soy sauce

wasabi paste

3 kinds of salad dressings- normally use homemade but these work in a pinch

red pepper, red pepper flakes

Crystal

butter

2 different salas

Penzeys sandwich sprinkle - good for subs

Franks Red Hot sauce

Food/Drink:

chai teas

green teas

water

kashi cereal

granola bars

dried fruit

wasabi peas-you should see the looks I get when I eat these !

Kavli crispy garlic

oatmeal

Thai Kitchen noodle soups- add various ingredients chicken,shrimp, veg, green onions or just to eat as is. "What is that like Ramen ?"

imported tuna

This food is stuff I keep on hand just in case I can't get out to grab a bite and didn't bring anything that day or I ran out the door without breakfast. My co-workers are always asking what's that, what's in it, can I taste it ? I am always bringing in soup and leftovers to share. Although since my friend left I haven't been sharing quite as much.

One time my boss poked at my ropa vieja with his FINGER and said "What's THAT ????! I almost killed him..... You don't know what something is all you have to do is ask, don't stick you finger in my food !

My friends and family think I am crazy for sure. I have heard things such as:

"You spent HOW much on that knife ? Just ONE knife ?"

"Why don't you just get your seafood/produce at the grocery store ?"

"Why do you need another cookbook?"

"How much is that pan ? It is just a pan, you can get a WHOLE set at Target for less than that !!"

"Mom, why are you taking pictures of the food ?"

"You can't go to the cooking store alone anymore"

"How much did you spend on groceries ? Didn't you just go last week ?"

"Why do you want to go to that food show, you are just going to walk around & look at food. That's no fun."

They only people who really get me is my mom's husband; we can talk about food for hours, one of the service techs at my job; used to be a chef, my daughter; loves new foods, will try anything, loves to go on my food realted travels and is learning to cook at 7, and my father-in-law (well somewhat); he loves seafood and we can talk about that and trade seafood recipes, but he still can't understand why I spent so much on one knife...

Although he doesn't quite get it, my hubby to be DOES enjoy a good meal. He might not be as adventurous as I am, but at least he can appreciate a good meal and doesn't mind spending the money to get it. Of course when I start to talk about the small details of the meal I can see him "checking out" of the conversation (but he trys to put on a "yes I am listening face" & nod appropriately ).

I think the book is a great idea !

[Curlz]

I am SO enjoying this thread!!!

Yes, my friends think I'm nuts, but like many of you have already said, they have their own obsessions (I mean, how many cat tzotchkes, books on knitting or bead necklaces does one person need? HA!). And of course, they benefit from my love of food, kitchen supply places (Grovite, come on up to NJ and I'll take you to Chef Central--my idea of Nirvana), and the fact that I'll chat with all of the restaurant owners and chefs...

In the office, I now have my own small fridge, but I've always kept a supply of tea, snacks, etc. in the desk.

And I'm the go-to gal when anyone needs a wine, caterer or restaurant suggestion! Thank goodness my dad understands me--it's his DNA that got me on this track, after all! The rest of my immediate family enjoys food, but not like we do.

[santo_grace]

Great thread!

I was just thinking about this yesterday when I overheard a coworker telling another coworker what a felafel is and how there is a place around the corner that have a good one. Alas, the coworker decided to go to Subway for the usual.

I'm fairly new to the job here, so I didn't interject with any comments...just smiled to myself and wondered how much she would freak out if she knew what my husband and I spend on meals out or on our dinner parties at home. Over the years, I've started to tell people that eating out is my hobby. People will accept cooking or baking as a hobby, but I've had some tell me eating out can't be a hobby. If it's an activity that I choose to spend my money on then it's a hobby.

As for the felafel-loving coworker, she's about 10 years younger, so it a lot of fun discussing food with her. She's at a different stage of life (out of college) and wants to start doing more as far as cooking goes and trying new things.

Luckily, our friends all like a good meal - either home cooked or from a restaurant.

My husband and friends do smile though when I say "on egullet the other day, I read...".

[Curlz]

My husband and friends do smile though when I say "on egullet the other day, I read...".

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My friends don't smile when I say that, but at least they've stopped rolling their eyes...

[Shaya]

Thank you Kim, Katie and Ron...This is going to be fun!

A friend just came by with her little boy for a playdate with my boys. She was thrilled because dinner is all set for tonight: boiled chicken breast, tossed with a jar of Russian salad dressing, a can of onion soup and a can of something else but I can't remember what - I've blocked it completely from my mind. Toss it all into a casserole and presto. I was dying to give her some great ideas of what to do with chicken but I held back, very proud of myself. My left cheek is killing me now though!

It sort of left me depressed actually, it just confirms that there is really a dearth of like-minded people in my life.

[jgm]

jgm, you're in Wichita, Kansas, am I right?  I mean, you are probably a little out there most places but I'd think even more of a rarity in Kansas, which might explain your perplexed coworkers.   

(yes, I know folks in Kansas aren't all a bunch of hicks, I live in a rural area myself, which allows me to comment in a way Mannhattanites couldn't get away with)

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Yes, that's true. My friends have gotten used to some of my activities, so they don't say much anymore. They speak of me as a "picky eater" because I just can't stand the food at certain places they frequent.

What never ceases to amaze me is how they tell THEIR friends and relatives about this co-worker they have, who made her husband a birthday cake that had $10 worth of chocolate in the frosting alone. Etcetera. But yes, they call me when they have a food question. And they love, love, love my Korova cookies, which require between $5 and $10 worth of chocolate per recipe.

And for those who must defend spending money on expensive restaurant dinners, here's the merit in doing that: You don't have to find a place to keep them. You don't have to dust them. You don't have to spend money maintaining them. You don't have to insure them, board them, or put them in winter storage. And you can still enjoy them when you're over 40 and you have bad knees.

[sazji]

I've been known to return from pho restaurants with herbs in my hand, munching on them all afternoon, because I couldn't let them go to waste. 

My mother takes them home to try to root them...

Ah, I'm guilty on both counts! I used to go to asian grocery stores and come how with the strangest things I could find, and if it were a fruit or vegetable, or sometimes an herb, all the better. And very, very often, I would try and grow the seeds, sometimes with success. I had a huge "tree tomato" plant for a while, grown from seeds of one that appeared in the grocery store. (I'm still an obsessive seed collector actually.. just sent a bunch of seeds of a local huge gray squash to some people around the world so they could grow it...I have a big pile of seeds from really delicious jujubes I bought last fall, I'll try to grow a tree once the weather warms up. And I think I've killed two birds with one stone by planting what is probably the only specime of "Ken's Red" hardy kiwi in my garden here in Istanbul.

When I worked at the UW Forestry Dept., there were people on both sides of the fence - the Dean's secretary was a notorious foodie as well, and our financial person was an Indian woman who was also a very good cook, so the three of us would get talking and sharing each other's creations, while others would look on blankly. (I remember a coworker seeing me eating a blood orange, which he thought was just too weird, and when I offered him a section, he said, "Uhh...no thanks," as if I'd offered him his first taste of balut. I mean, it's an orange for chrissake. (BTW just made a batch of blood orange marmelade, I recommend it...)

My friends here definitely do think I'm nuts when I take pictures of food, either in a restaurant (especially) or when I go into a pastry shop and ask them if it's okay. The friends usually stand outside and pretend they don't know me. But I've yet to find a shopkeeper who isn't proud that someone stopped in off the street and wanted to photograph his kadayif!

Edited January 25, 2006 by sazji (log)

[aznsailorboi]

Hello guys! I guess I belong to the weird people group as well hehe.....and I don't care...I've paid more than US$400 for a set of knives, which I use all the time and not as a display only. I've traveled a couple of miles more than I should've for a restaurant/bar/hole-in-the-wall mom and pop place. I know big culinary words. I could say I've eaten weird sh*t most people haven't...and could actually go for Fear Factor LOL. I ask for freshly cracked black pepper from a pepper mill in restaurants even though they have the salt and pepper shakers on the table. I can be cheap as hell for all other stuff but I never go cheap on food........*okay, and clothes... . I know what all the functions of each silverware on a formal dining setting. I've purposely dissed some friends on a movie premier for a restaurant opening...I know im bad on that one...but oh well life goes on. I can distinguish different types of soy sauce. I have more condiments in my pantry than my mom....although she competes in the number of pots, pans and skillet that I have. I'm a very impatient person, but I can slave a whole day in front of a stove and not complain at all. All this I've done for the glory of food.

[Toliver]

I have threatened to write a cookbook "The Cubcle Gourmet."  Any takers or contributers?

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Hey, Judy, if you're serious about this, I'll speak to my sister, who's a freelance copy editor and does a lot of cookbooks. (She used to be a cubicle gourmet, but now works from the comfort of home!)

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Hey, maybe we can get Sara Moulton to contribute to the chapter titled "The Well-Stocked Cubicle Pantry".

I'm so lacking in that department. At work I have salt & pepper and a bottle of Chipotle Tabasco sauce which goes great on most grilled chicken fast food sandwiches.

To get back on topic, I am fortunate that most of my family members are "foodies" (I hate that word), as well. My mom is usually the most reluctant participant followed by my niece who is an adult now but eats like a child (no veggies for her ).

We used to go out to eat for our birthday dinners but now we prefer to stay in and cook our own dinners. For my niece's last birthday dinner, my brother concocted a twist on Chicken Cordon Bleu by adding sautéed chile peppers in the middle of the roll-up with some pepper flakes added to the outisde breading/coating. Talk about kicking it up a notch!

I just get funny looks from my friends when I try to describe our great dinners.

Oh well, it's their loss.

[saskanuck]

I'm not quite up to the standards of some of you here, but I'm slowly getting there. There aren't a lot of fine dining places here, so I make a lot of meals at home. I don't have an expensive knife set yet, but that's next on my list.

I don't see much of my coworkers at lunch time because most of them are off shopping at the mall and eating mall food. I do have a small stash of stuff in my cubicle such as salt and pepper (of course), a couple of bottles of herb/spice combos for sprinkling, a bunch of different kinds of tea and a small jar of honey for sweetening, and always a variety of snacky foods. I'd like to keep more in our work fridge, but it's used by a lot of people and things go missing in there. Oh, and I have a can opener and set of cutlery, as well as a bowl, plate and cup, also a small teapot. I hate using plastic dishes and cutlery. People always see me with my cute little glass teapot in the afternoon and think it's such a good idea. I'd like to have freshly boiled water for my tea, but the hot water dispenser on our water fountain is damned near boiling, so it's actually ok. Some teas are better when the water is just off the boil anyway.

I am the go-to person in our workgroup if someone wants ideas for meals when they're entertaining or if they need to know how to make something.

My husband doesn't quite get it, and my youngest son is still little and a picky eater. My 11 year old son likes to cook, and boy, does he like to eat. He's on his way to becoming a foodie too.

Sometimes I wish I didn't like food so much, because it would be easier to lose weight, but then I'd be missing out on one of the great joys of life.

[joiei]

My friends don't smile when I say that, but at least they've stopped rolling their eyes... 

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I still get the eye rolling.

They don't understand why I would drive to Dallas or Kansas City just to eat dinner. And with strange people that I met online at eGullet no less.

They don't understand when I talk about visiting grocery stores in different places. I love it.

I purchase wine from stores in 4 different states, hey, Oklahoma can be difficult sometimes, especially if I am looking for some Turley or Kathleen Kennedy.

They don't understand why I stop at Dean and Deluca when leaving Kansas City to get lunch to go for the trip home instead of stopping off at McD's somewhere on the way where the "food is fresher" according to them.

And I will never understand the joy and thrill of watching cars go around and around in a big circle for hours on end. To each our own.