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Hazards of Cooking the Books
By Ann | April 2, 2008
Oh, mes amies. After my jaunty cooking bonanza over the weekend, I was shocked when that dull ache in my lower back suddenly turned into a giant, throbbing knot. It turns out that spending hours on one’s feet in a hunched position actually causes lingering pain — who knew? The good news is that the pain somewhat disappears when I’m (a) walking, (b) lying flat on the floor, or (c) in the shower. The bad news: none of these activities are actually conducive to cooking. With Chris away, there’s been an awful lot of takeout in the ol’ Cooking the Books homestead. (Side note: Isn’t the above image fantastic? It’s the first thing that popped up on google images when I typed in “back pain.”)
Actually, I must admit that my back is feeling much better today so perhaps we will press forward with The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook: The New Classics this evening. In the meantime, I’d like to point out a fantastic article in today’s NYT Dining section on microwave cooking. I am a huge fan of the microwave — I use it to defrost food, heat up leftovers or melt chocolate all the time, but I never considered using it to cook a main dish — like this eggplant curry… very intriguing.
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3 Responses to “Hazards of Cooking the Books”
Comments
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April 3rd, 2008 at 8:40 pm
oh, no, Ann, occupational hazards…hope you feel MUCH MUCH better soon! Yes, fantastic picture, kinda freakish-looking though I have to say…
April 5th, 2008 at 11:34 am
It’s a terrible problem, but it will only get far worse if ignored.
Three things I can virtually guarantee will help resolve the issue significantly;
1. Massage - not the kind with “extra’s” of course, but the professional variety. You’ll be amazed how even a single massage session will sort you out.
2. Yoga - I know people who have been declared “hopeless cases” by medicine, and instead of taking pain killers, took up yoga. Yes, it will cost some time and money up front to buy the mat, attend the classes etc, but you’ll get to a stage where you can do yoga daily on your own.
3. Hang-ups - there’s something called an ‘Inversion Table’ which looks like a medieval torture device, but in fact is a frame you secure yourself into, and then ‘invert’ yourself. This relieves the pressures of gravity, replenishes the spinal discs, lengthens the spine, and helps sort out any hunching and curves. It’s an amazing and effective tool, and if used regularly, say for 5 minutes a day, will help enormously. My wife uses hers daily, due to old gymnsatics injuries, and it’s really helped, especially in conjunction with some yoga. See the device at teeterhangups.com. They only stock through specialists, and these will let you go in and try one out.
Basically, you need to start finding the time for yourself, and being proactive. Otherwise you’ll get shorter in hight, remain hunched in old age, and suffer some regular pain. Being proactive will lead to a healthier outcome, and a little effort will go a long way to correcting problems. I hope this helped and good luck! Thanks for the great blog!!
April 7th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
Hi Andrew –
Thanks for your VERY informative comment — really helpful! Actually, my back pain disappeared on its own (for now…) but I’m going to start taking more yoga classes to ward off future problems. The inversion table sounds intriguing, too.
Thanks again for your advice and for reading!