Faux Cooking

So now we need meal preparation centers to stave off guilt for not cooking and to create those sit-down family gatherings from the 1950's? I don't buy it. People are smarter than that, they're just lazy. Putting together a meal for yourself or your family isn't that difficult.

When Ms. Robbins cooked, it was spaghetti or tuna casserole over and over, with rarely enough time to make a salad.

How long does it take, exactly, to make a salad these days? Greens come pre-washed, you can toast pecans in the microwave while you retrieve plates. Sprinkle croutons, dried cranberries and pre-crumbled gorgonzola over the lettuce. Add the pecans, and cube a pear. Toss with dressing or let the family add their own. If you're making spaghetti, you at least have 10 minutes while the noodles cook. And that's if you're cooking solo.

One of the reasons many adults aren't comfortable in the kitchen is that their parents didn't cook, or didn't involve them in meal preparation. I understand that kids have homework and extra curriculars, but you're not doing them any favours if they arrive at university only able to boil water. Plus, it's an opportunity for quality time. Even if they never turn out a perfect souffle, they could at least help with the salad.

"People basically don't want to cook but they don't want to be told they are not cooking," said Madhur Jaffrey, the Indian cookbook author and actor. "It's an illusion."

And anything you make in your own home, with ingredients you purchased, is going to be better than anything you make with products from Sysco. Go to the bookstore, or online, get yourself a basic cookbook, (this, this or even this will do for a start) and get on with it.