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Do You Ever Cook at Night When You Can't Sleep?

2008_08_26-nightkitchen.jpgWe were thinking about this last night... when we couldn't sleep. Do you ever head into the kitchen instead of reading a book or turning on the TV?

 
 

We realize that cooking while groggy might be dangerous. (Maybe steer clear of the chef's knife.) But cooking a simple meal in a quiet kitchen can be soothing.

Our other thought was that, if what's keeping you up is the thought of having to make six dozen cupcakes the next day for a school bake sale, getting started might actually alleviate the stress and help your mind rest.

Do you ever cook when you can't sleep?

Related: What Smells Do You Like Waking Up To?

(Image: Flickr member Suzba, licensed for use under Creative Commons)

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Surveys, sleep, comfort, night

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Comments (10)

This happens on very rare occasions, and only when I have no lunch for the next day. Still, the last time I went to cook while I was sleepy I started making pasta and fell asleep, only to wake up to my smoke alarm earning its keep.

This is why I stick to my Xbox for curing insomnia.

posted by Plaid Ninja on August 25th 2008 at 4:58am
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This happens all the time to me, but I think it might be the other way around; I can't sleep because I want to cook! That way, there's some good food to look forward to in the morning and I don't have to worry about finding the time between work hours and such.

posted by BitterSweet- on August 25th 2008 at 5:46am
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When I suffered from serious insomnia (2-4 hours of sleep each night), I baked and sometimes cookied more often than not. I do sometimes stay up cooking when I have a lot of food to prepare for something going on the next day, too.

posted by OneWallKitchen on August 25th 2008 at 5:54am
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Yes! I often find myself in the kitchen at 2am whipping up something for my family or to try a new recipe. I somehow like the 'quiet' time I have for myself and for some strange reason, I like to use this time to also clean the kitchen. Nothing like owning my own space and feeling good about it.

posted by kat's eyes on August 25th 2008 at 6:26am
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well... no, I've never gotten out of bed to cook at, say, 3am, but I have stayed up cooking until 3am on several occasions... does that count? I have, however, surfed the web for recipes and food blogs on the rare occasions I had trouble sleeping.

posted by VeryDelishVeg on August 25th 2008 at 7:37am
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When I can't sleep I don't get up to cook but lay there planning new recipes and marrying flavors. Making notes of stuff I've come up with and then I'm to excited to sleep because I can't wait to get up and start cooking.
It's a real problem, my family and friends always hope I've had a sleepless night (LOL)

posted by willie on August 25th 2008 at 8:42am
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No way - that would totally wake me up. I made the mistake once of getting online in the middle of the night when I couldn't sleep and I was ruined for the next day.

I read myself back to sleep. That usually does the trick.

posted by Pixie on August 25th 2008 at 10:23am
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I have an aunt who is the queen of the stress-insomnia induced dead of night baking bonanza. My cousin told me recently that he was well into high school before he realized that not everyone's mom gets up at 3 or 4 to make babka. She was always our favorite babysitter when my bros and I were little. She'd line us up, announce what we were baking, and bark orders at us (she's a CEO now). We were her cake slaves.

But me? I read when I can't sleep.

posted by cmcinnyc on August 25th 2008 at 11:05am
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I wish I could, but nope. That would be too loud and wake my husband up!

posted by tipperella on August 26th 2008 at 12:42pm
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Yep! When I was really sick and medications I was on caused me to have insane insomnia (I could only sleep a few hours a night) I would force myself to stay in bed till 4am, then I would make cinnamon rolls from scratch (2-3 hours)! That way, when my roommates and/or boyfriend woke up, we all had a tasty breakfast. It made the illness stuff a wee bit easier to deal with.

posted by aliciak on August 26th 2008 at 4:20pm
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