Why I enjoy cooking and great books, my 'special interests'

Cooking is a hobby of mine. I love to cook - and also to devise healthy, interesting and slimming recipes and meal plans.

We all need some home-based hobbies these days, especially if bereaved. Perhaps a better name for most hobbies is "a special interest." In my case, I'm very into cooking and think of it as a hobby. For me it's relaxing, fun, creative, experimental - and usually tasty!

I enjoy making my dear husband's favorite traditional Nazareth dishes, which fit beautifully as part of a Mediterranean-type diet or any healthy diet with lots of fish, chicken, meats (occasionally in small proportions), vegetables, fruits and salads.

Cooking is of course a somewhat messy hobby with lots of pots and pans to soak and wash. And I'm a bit of a messy cook. So I don't love the cleanup part. Yet that's OK. It's just a price to pay for favorite dishes at mealtime. By cooking, I know exactly what's in my meal. We had a dear physician who said that's why it's better to cook and eat at home! He was right.

Actually, we all need some at-home hobbies or special interests these days. If you are passionate or at least very keen on your hobby, it becomes a productive and positive use of your time.

A hobby is not just the doing of it, nor the outcome. It requires a lot of preparation, procurement, planning, and so on. Whether your hobby is reading, painting, writing, playing or listening to music, or anything else, you probably need the materials, preparations, and provisions to do it.

In the case of cooking, there's lots of grocery shopping, seeking out the particular ingredients needed, searching for the best recipe, even digging into old recipe boxes for favorite family recipes. And of course there's a world of recipes and cooking advice to Google online. I have my grandmother Anderson's recipe box and many recipes from my own mother and grandmother Hicks. One often needs to consult with other good cooks for advice, so there are phone calls and emails. Then there are the entertaining foodie cooking shows on TV. It's a whole enterprise, as you see.

Take any hobby and you find the same web of engagement. I'm sure painters need to shop the needed supplies, may consult with or socialize with other painters, perhaps study various techniques, and so on. Many have a website and put their work online.

Even avid readers usually spend time seeking out books to read. They may follow new book releases in certain genres, or look for ones not yet read, research books online, read book reviews, or go to the library to borrow books, discuss books with friends, belong to book clubs. Some follow the new bestsellers. So there's lots of associated activity in addition to the reading itself.

I am personally surrounded by books, and reading is another of my own hobbies. Music lovers have a similar web of activities in addition to the actual listening or playing.

And a side benefit of many hobbies is that the output or results can be shared with friends and neighbors, to say nothing of good meals for family if it's cooking. I have a friend who loves to bake - much more than she likes to eat. So she bakes and gives away most to friends. I often do that with dishes I cook.

Avid readers often loan me or friends their favorite books. One day last winter I had a huge surprise: I found an original oil painting of my own house on my front porch! A local painter just liked the scene, painted it and gave it to me. I had never before met him or knew he was an artist. It's really pretty. So nice.

My only problem with my own cooking is all my kitchen pots are large and the recipes are for a big family or gathering of friends. It's hard to change that. So I either give away or freeze leftovers, both work. Some of my Nazareth dishes are actually better the next day.

So the point is: A hobby or special interest is a very positive and rewarding activity for anyone, but especially for the bereaved during this "stay at home" stretch when we can't amuse and distract ourselves with community activities, festivals, dinner parties and in-person social gatherings. It's never too late to develop or expand a hobby.

• Susan Anderson-Khleif of Sleepy Hollow has a doctorate in family sociology from Harvard, taught at Wellesley College and is a retired Motorola executive. Contact her at sakhleif@comcast.net or see her blog longtermgrief.tumblr.com. See previous columns at www.dailyherald.com/topics/Anderson-Kleif-Susan.