Cooking Therapy

Books

• The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen by Jacques Pépin (audiobook) – I picked this up from my office's free table (a great source of free books, toys, and used kitchen utensils you don't want to touch). I had planned to give it to my friend, who's a former chef, but it turns out he's already read it (of course). He spoke highly of it, so I decided to keep it for myself. The book (as read by Michel Chevalier) is a beautiful memoir of Pépin's life and love of cooking. So far, I've heard about his childhood in war-ravaged France, his mother's struggles to care for the family while his father fought for the Resistance, and his burgeoning cooking skills that he learned while working in his mother's series of restaurants after the war. In my teens and 20s, I was never much inspired to learn how to cook more than basics (pasta anyone?), mostly because it seemed daunting to learn all of the skills involved in knowing how to stock a good kitchen, find the right ingredients, and put them together in a delicious way…all for a meal that may last less than an hour. But as my children grow, so does my desire to do better for them than I was willing to do for myself. And there's nothing quite like hearing from a master chef about his love for food and cooking to inspire even someone like me to want to learn more. Luckily for Jacques Pépin, I can't bother him for actual advice. My friend, on the other hand, won't be as lucky.

• Hermit Crabs by Carol Frischmann – The daughter finally talked me into adding more creatures to the family zoo. It's only because I know how much she loves animals, and how well she could support an aging mother on a veterinarian's salary, that I finally agreed. The book we picked up at the pet store about how to care for the hermit crabs is clearly written, but overwhelming for the daughter to go through on her own. So I've agreed to read it, and then talk about the information with her. What I've learned so far is that hermit crabs, when properly cared for, can live 15 years or more. So now my main concern is: will the veterinary school dorms allow the daughter to bring hermit crabs with her? Although Hermione and Wiggles have grown on me, my hope is that the answer is yes.

• The kids and I went to a local Book and Bake Sale that raises money for our town library. This weekend-long event happens every spring and fall, and it is one of my favorite times of the year. (I'm not exaggerating. The daughter can attest to how I sang "It's the most wonderful time of the year" on the drive over. The kids eventually asked me to stop because I was singing that one line over and over. But in my defense, I was giddy with excitement and coffee.) The son picked out a bunch of early readers, which I have been reading to him at bedtime. The daughter and I got a few books each, too. My list is: Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow, All My Sons by Arthur Miller, Fraud by David Rakoff, My Life in France by Julia Child (more cooking advice from a master!), and Treasury of Women's Quotations. Also, the kids got cake pops. Score!

• Les Misérables by Victor Hugo – Still moving along.

TV

• 30 Rock – It was the live episode. Given the live-TV pedigree of the Saturday Night Live graduates on the show, it was predictably well done, and even improved from last year's first foray into a 30 Rock live show. This episode's theme was remembering the power of live TV, and one of the better moments was a sketch about a 1970s newscast in which two male news anchors (Jon Hamm and Alec Baldwin for the East Coast broadcast; Brian Williams and Baldwin for the West Coast) refuse to accept that a female correspondent (Tina Fey) has a story for them. Best line: "Honey, you have a dynamite shape, but you're going to have to shut up and let a man tell us what's happening. Now, is your father or a policeman nearby?"

• Community – I'm officially back on the bandwagon. Although I find the show to be hit or miss this season, the recent homage to Law and Order was sensational. It was so spot on in merging the look and feel of a Dick Wolf production with the quirky characters and storylines of Community, that I wonder if they borrowed any of the L&O crew to shoot it. And I'm hesitant to describe the episode in any great detail because part of the charm was how unexpected the L&O-style moments were. If you're a fan of the shows and haven't seen it, find it online. Dun dun!

• VH1's Couples Therapy – This show may be the best combination of true life and reality ridiculousness on air. Although it's so easy to make fun of the d-list celebrities, some of the participants have real traumas in their past, and it's all coming out. When DMX has a reunion with his mother, who in the past abused and abandoned him, the moment is as sad and powerful as you would expect. I'm still confused about the true motives of the mother, who comes in with arms open, love in her heart, and simple explanations, all of which gloss over the terrible events of the past. But the joy that DMX seems to feel from finally hearing his mother say, "I love you"—something we've learned she never said during his childhood—makes it irrelevant what her intentions are. His happiness is real. On the other side of the emotional heft is the ridiculousness, mostly brought on by the therapists and the learning experiences they've set up for the couples. I suppose it's possible that Dr. Jenn Berman is a good therapist (the celebrities certainly seem to value her opinion), but either her on-camera approach or the editing of VH1's reality masters gives me lots of pause. Just before DMX's mother is brought in for the big meeting, Berman asks if she could lead everyone in a prayer. We have seen DMX and his wife pray before, so we know that religion is important to them. If they had initiated the prayer, and the doctor joined them, I would think it was a nice, supportive gesture. But is it common for a therapist to initiate the prayer? Also, during group therapy, Berman often swears more than any of her patients, which includes Angelina from Jersey Shore, I remind you. At one of the planned experiences, the couples learn about the enduring power of love when a guest speaker tells them how his girlfriend was seriously injured days before their wedding. As the young man speaks and shows a video about his story, the couples are led to believe that his girlfriend died. But, surprise! When the video ends, the young woman enters the room in a wheelchair. Everyone is visibly relieved to learn that the young woman survived and that the couple was finally able to get married. But am I the only one who finds it odd that the young man had to sit there with a forlorn look so that the celebrities and TV audience first thought that his girlfriend was dead? Is the "big reveal" as much a practice of therapy as it is on television? The next learning experience brought the couples to a jewelry store to help another young man pick an engagement ring for his girlfriend. Since d-list celebrities are experts at engagement rings and figuring out what a person they've never met would like, it seems like a very useful task. What did they learn, you might ask? That diamonds are sparkly!