Faux Cooking in a Fast Food Nation

I was reading a post on the blog Bitten and one from the New York Times about the effects of the recession and of food television on the amount of home cooking in America. It seems that there has not been much of an effect at all. Instead of eating-out, people are "taking-out" from grocery and convenience stores. Prepared foods that simply need to be eaten or heated.

This is an interesting phenomenon. I saw an astounding commercial the other day for a family sized microwavable lasagna. It seems that people now equate baking a frozen pizza or zapping a pre-made pot roast as cooking! I admit, I use pre-made pizza crust and gasp! frozen vegetables, but I take the time to craft a healthy meal that requires cooking or at least the combination of ingredients with these convenience foods. What happened to creating a meal? Have people in America really forgotten how to cook?

I suppose I began slowly, making salads and quick pastas in my first home, but I quickly fell in love with the craft. It was my desire to lose weight and eat healthier that got me started. It costs me as much to cook as to go out. New York groceries are nightmarishly pricey. The satisfaction is so much fuller though.

Creating and then consuming, rather than just eating is a truly nourishing experience. I wonder what it would take to convince people that it is worth the extra time. I find that coming home after a long day, stopping at the market and then cooking dinner is the best way to wind down. It is the transition from work to home, into a state of relaxation. All the irritations and frustrations can be forgotten as you focus on the task at hand. Maybe people would need less therapy if they simply came home and engaged in the natural and fulfilling acts of baking or sauteing!

As I wrote earlier this week, the most natural pleasures we have are food and sex. Well, the preparation of food is foreplay for eating. After indulging in a meal artfully prepared and lighter than the fried crap you can heat and eat, there might just be enough energy and relaxation left over for a romp in the bedroom. Perhaps this is the secret to the infamous French sensuality, the true enjoyment of food and sex and life. Not always quick and easy, but richer and more beautiful.