Are we getting more & more cooking-averse?
(No Ratings Yet)Read this fascinating article in the NY Times by Michael Pollan title ‘Out of the Kitchen, onto the couch‘. It is a hilarious look at the growing trend in America ( I would argue this is becoming a world-wide phenomenon, though) of watching other people cook, on TV, without lifting a finger to cook for oneself. Pollan argues that the proliferation of cooking shows on TV in no way implies that cooking is taking off in homes across the country; rather it simply points to the attraction food holds for us; in Pollan’s words, cooking has turned into a “spectator sport”. Thus audiences watch these cookery shows with keen interest & then promptly order a take-out or pull out a frozen dinner from the microwave.
Photo credit: NYTimes.com
I look back on my own culinary journey & knew just very elementary cooking at the time I got married. The little I knew I have to attribute to my mother, who as every Indian mother had done before her, admonished me into helping out in the kitchen lest I would never find a husband who would be willing to marry me. While this was many years ago, I still believe girls are dinned with a sense of culinary responsibility, & are severely frowned upon by relatives & friends in case they prove inept in the kitchen. The degree of competence required varies, & I got by with really little; I have to admit I was rescued from the not-too-pleasant fallout of such ignorance by the fact that I married quite unconventionally: my to-be husband & I decided that we wanted to get married, & the rest of the clan had to give in!
Anyways, over the years I did experiment & cook regularly so that I consider myself a decent cook now. But it’s only after my diagnosis last year of celiac disease that I have become finicky about cooking from scratch, with very little processed food going into any meal. In that sense, I view my condition with great gratitude: I am being forced to eat healthy! I would urge anyone who cares about their health to eat a fair number of their meals at home, & eat as little processed food as possible. The food processing industry & the farming sector have made guinea pigs out of us all the past couple of decades. No wonder there is such a spike in the food allergies & intolerances we humans are suffering. We must get back to basics as far as food is concerned. Do you agree? Id love to hear your take on this.
