It’s so sad that this has happened. Growing up we only went out to dinner on very special occasions. I had no idea what fast food was. I learned to cook from my mom and grandmother. Home made from scratch. Basic tools. One of my pet peeves is a recipe that calls for using a food processor or immersion blender or other specialized equipment. Those things are fine to use but what about when you don’t have them? And don’t want them. Thank goodness for pre-tech cookbooks.
Yes, at least give both sets of instructions. Like "diced fine or pulse in food processor." If something relies in an appliance call it out right at the beginning of the recipe.
That is true, and we rarely ate out as well. But all our home cooked meals at home growing up involved meat cooked to shoe leather consistency and vegetables boiled to death.
My mother, may the Perpetual Light Shine Upon Her, was a genius, but she hated cooking. When she fell ill when I was age 13 years old, I was stunned by my father's cooking, which was excellent. His mother (also Irish, I'd note) was an excellent cook.
My parents were raised on a farm during the Depression. Mom's family butchered canned smoked and all the rest; dad's was so dirt poor they barely eeked survival on a rock. They married young, moved to the city, and all I've known growing up is supermarkets. Mom still cooked according to her raising, so I did learn some tips and tricks but today I cook 1 day of the week (Sunday) and eat leftovers the rest of the week. Hearty soups and casseroles. Occasional salads. I wish I could bake. Mom's pies were the stuff of mythology.
I agree wholeheartedly with this. When I was a kid we never ate out. In fact I never ate out until I was seventeen years old. My husband and I live in a very rural area where the nearest grocer is about thirty-five miles from our home. That’s fine with me as we bulk shop and don’t need to make trips to the store as often. We make most every meal here from scratch and for my husband and I we think they taste better. One thing is for sure…they’re a lot less expensive than eating out all the time. I agree that eating out should be a treat instead of a regular habit. I know folks are busy and get exhausted after a long day of work. But meal prep is a great idea to combat that
Our go to fast meal is steaks and salad. 15 minutes including resting the steak, and it does not get better nutritionally. We did grab subs after the gym tonight but I had a craving.
As someone who is in tech and hears about all the next great ideas, I hear a lot about the food industry whether it be in agricultural production to food services. I hear a lot of ideas about how to deliver people food made from machines. It makes me sick. These people don’t understand the value and importance of cooking, sharing meals with family, and all the experiences that come from learning how to cook and bake with your parents.
It’s probably why my wife and I moved to rural North Idaho and have a homestead haha. I can turn off my computer go play with my animals, and then cook a good meal with my wife over the wood stove.
Oh, I don't know. In my experience people eat more at home than we suspect. And more varied. Here in my household the meat entries include beef, deer, elk, antelope, wild foul, and wild fish. Maybe we are the exception.
I think we fail to realize the extent to which not all that long ago North American, and frankly northern European, meals were very uniform, and bland. My mother, who was an Irish Canadian, learned to cook in the English style and meals at home when I was a kid were basically all cooked to death and bland (my father was a much better cook). I think we've actually reinstituted some food variety in American cuisine.
You are definitely the exception. But that is great. As far as other people I think big city people skew the average. New Yorkers do not cook. We need to overhaul the way we produce and consume food.
Before I was married (some 30 years ago, it's flown by) I only ate protein that I'd taken myself. Now, I mostly only eat it if I've taken, or raised it, myself. At one time, I managed to mostly eat produce I'd raised myself, which made rations a little thin as after the fall it was down to potatoes and onions, which I could store. Summer was, truly, "salad days".
I'd still do that, but my long suffering spouse would not tolerate it. And try as I might, I've never been able to make being a stockman my primary wage job, so my town job has prevented my very large garden in recent years.
It’s so sad that this has happened. Growing up we only went out to dinner on very special occasions. I had no idea what fast food was. I learned to cook from my mom and grandmother. Home made from scratch. Basic tools. One of my pet peeves is a recipe that calls for using a food processor or immersion blender or other specialized equipment. Those things are fine to use but what about when you don’t have them? And don’t want them. Thank goodness for pre-tech cookbooks.
Yes, at least give both sets of instructions. Like "diced fine or pulse in food processor." If something relies in an appliance call it out right at the beginning of the recipe.
That is true, and we rarely ate out as well. But all our home cooked meals at home growing up involved meat cooked to shoe leather consistency and vegetables boiled to death.
My mother, may the Perpetual Light Shine Upon Her, was a genius, but she hated cooking. When she fell ill when I was age 13 years old, I was stunned by my father's cooking, which was excellent. His mother (also Irish, I'd note) was an excellent cook.
My parents were raised on a farm during the Depression. Mom's family butchered canned smoked and all the rest; dad's was so dirt poor they barely eeked survival on a rock. They married young, moved to the city, and all I've known growing up is supermarkets. Mom still cooked according to her raising, so I did learn some tips and tricks but today I cook 1 day of the week (Sunday) and eat leftovers the rest of the week. Hearty soups and casseroles. Occasional salads. I wish I could bake. Mom's pies were the stuff of mythology.
Baking is just chemistry. Get a proper scale and do everything by weight instead of volume to control the variables. It helps a lot.
Hearty soups and casseroles are great for leftovers. We make a lot of them as well
I agree wholeheartedly with this. When I was a kid we never ate out. In fact I never ate out until I was seventeen years old. My husband and I live in a very rural area where the nearest grocer is about thirty-five miles from our home. That’s fine with me as we bulk shop and don’t need to make trips to the store as often. We make most every meal here from scratch and for my husband and I we think they taste better. One thing is for sure…they’re a lot less expensive than eating out all the time. I agree that eating out should be a treat instead of a regular habit. I know folks are busy and get exhausted after a long day of work. But meal prep is a great idea to combat that
Our go to fast meal is steaks and salad. 15 minutes including resting the steak, and it does not get better nutritionally. We did grab subs after the gym tonight but I had a craving.
Teaching your child to make simple dishes to feed themselves, is truly an act of love and survival.
A thing for which I am regularly grateful.
As someone who is in tech and hears about all the next great ideas, I hear a lot about the food industry whether it be in agricultural production to food services. I hear a lot of ideas about how to deliver people food made from machines. It makes me sick. These people don’t understand the value and importance of cooking, sharing meals with family, and all the experiences that come from learning how to cook and bake with your parents.
It’s probably why my wife and I moved to rural North Idaho and have a homestead haha. I can turn off my computer go play with my animals, and then cook a good meal with my wife over the wood stove.
Thank you for such a great article!
It is a shame that so many business people's idea of delivering value is increasing dependency
Oh, I don't know. In my experience people eat more at home than we suspect. And more varied. Here in my household the meat entries include beef, deer, elk, antelope, wild foul, and wild fish. Maybe we are the exception.
I think we fail to realize the extent to which not all that long ago North American, and frankly northern European, meals were very uniform, and bland. My mother, who was an Irish Canadian, learned to cook in the English style and meals at home when I was a kid were basically all cooked to death and bland (my father was a much better cook). I think we've actually reinstituted some food variety in American cuisine.
You are definitely the exception. But that is great. As far as other people I think big city people skew the average. New Yorkers do not cook. We need to overhaul the way we produce and consume food.
Before I was married (some 30 years ago, it's flown by) I only ate protein that I'd taken myself. Now, I mostly only eat it if I've taken, or raised it, myself. At one time, I managed to mostly eat produce I'd raised myself, which made rations a little thin as after the fall it was down to potatoes and onions, which I could store. Summer was, truly, "salad days".
I'd still do that, but my long suffering spouse would not tolerate it. And try as I might, I've never been able to make being a stockman my primary wage job, so my town job has prevented my very large garden in recent years.
Moving rural I discovered the taking of food to Church friends and neighbors during illness. It's a big THING out here.
Fresh cooked or frozen from your own kitchen. I add fresh fruit, 6pack of raisins, bananas.
5 decades big city life, receiving or bringing food never experienced.
Church coffees and potlucks make the world go around out here.