Cooking Today

I have a friend who enjoys watching cooking shows on TV, most of them competitions to see who can cook the fastest. These have no appeal to me and I doubt that they actually help viewers be better cooks.

            Perhaps my friend likes these shows because they counterbalance the fact that the art of cooking is slowly being lost. In the past when women did not work outside the home, cooking was central to family life. Children and husbands came home to the aroma of homemade soup and a slowly simmering stew, not to mention fresh baked bread.

            Today, cooking from scratch is being replaced by modern options. People are busy and have little time to spend in the kitchen so they let themselves be tempted by the endless displays of prepared meals at their local grocery stores. Not to mention “meal kit” subscriptions where fresh ingredients arrive ready to assemble. I suppose it is real cooking in a way.

            For those of us who still cook from scratch, these options are of course great when we’re busy or under the weather. That’s why I always have a few frozen meals in my freezer for such eventuality.  But as a rule I still cook from scratch. Making homemade soup is a regular thing for me. My family very much enjoys my squash soup especially in the fall.

When I make soup, or stew, or chilli, I make it in a big pot so I can freeze some of it, thus making many future meals no trouble at all. It also saves on shopping time. You get the ingredients only once instead of shopping for the same ingredients several times.

Of course, now that the good weather is back, I’m sure barbecuing will remain as popular as ever, especially for the guys. A good homemade meal can be had if the veggies are cooked along with the meat or the fish. What’s great about that is that the kitchen stays clean.

And who can argue with that!