Monkey Monday: “Is this thing on?” 26 September 2011 10:22 am
Posted by Tracy in : consumerism,convenience,cooking,cross-posting,eating,economics,fast food,food snobbery,health,kitchen gear,photos,pictures,tea,time versus money , trackbackPretend I started out here with a hilarious bit about trying to remember how I used to do these posts — or don’t, if meta-self-referential cutesiness is sooo turn of the 00′s and hellooo we are well into the second decade of the 21st century now, dur-hurr… Also maybe read (or reread) that August 2011 New York Times Magazine piece about how David Foster Wallace maybe kinda sorta invented the language of the Internet but he was one of only a very few writers skilled enough to actually employ this style without being super-annoying, and now everybody does it, gah! But I digress.
Here are a few things from this past month that got my attention and couldn’t just be camera-phoned and summarized in a caption on Flickr. There’s a picture and a rant, but then there’s some short and sweet and funny stuff, I promise.
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First, if you clicked through to my Flickr account up there (and you’re reading this post within a week or two of its publication), you probably saw my snarking about Mark Bittman’s big Sunday Review piece in yesterday’s New York Times, Is Junk Food Really Cheaper? (but if you didn’t, or I’ve buried it under other photos in Flickr by the time you read this, here it is):
Read the latest Bittman NYTimes Sunday Review piece w/a pen handy. The secret ingredient is still time. Sigh.
Hilariously, just as I was thinking to start a Monkey Monday post about this last night, my parents called to ask if I’d seen the article in question. So it’s a good thing I had my hand-written notes in the margins and on the illustrations of Bittman’s piece to remind me what to write about, because after the call I got distracted by a little thing called pumpkin pie (this weekend’s hideous humidity be danged, it is FALL and that means it is time to eat ALL the squash! — Gladys’s Rice and Bean Stew, you are NEXT!) Anyway, my rant about the Bittman piece is that he compares a few different ways to feed a family of four: two home-cooked meals and a bunch of McDonald’s. He compares prices and nutritional value, but does not take time into account AT ALL, let alone mental effort. Each of Bittman’s suggested (cheaper and more nutritious, I’m not arguing with that) home-cooked meals requires grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning up afterwards, plus some planning in advance. By comparison, the McDonald’s meal requires getting to the restaurant, ordering, waiting a little, throwing out the trash, and getting back home (the last two not necessarily in that order). Fast food is faster than home-cooked, and requires a lot less thinking, and that’s a BIG selling point, even without the multi-jillion-dollar ad campaigns reminding everybody how fun and (if you’re in the mood for it, which the ads help create) tasty it is. (Or, to put it a much wonkier way, The Thrifty Food Plan is not thrifty when labor cost is considered.) On top of that, there’s also the simple fact that not everybody likes to cook. Period. Even among people have the knowledge, skill, time and mental energy to spare for meal planning and shopping and cooking and cleanup, there are always going to be some who won’t prefer making a meal to killing brain cells, whether in front of the TV or playing video games or wasting time on the Intertwitplusflickrfacetubes. And no amount of “rah rah, don’t dream it, be it” privileged “well, I think cooking is good and good for you so everyone should do it, just like me” cheerleading is going to change that. EXCEPT! If we include more (maybe even MUCH more, because Bittman just barely hints at it in his very last paragraph, the one which I think should have included a mention of FRICKEN TIME MACHINES, but I cropped that part off in my Instagram picture, and anyway I think this social-engineering business is if anything more important than the cooking) “invite your friends over for dinner some time” cheerleading into the mix, then maybe eventually we will all take turns cooking for each other (or cooking together!) and helping with the dishes and eating the leftovers and suchforth, and then what a wonderful world this would be… see? I can dream, too.
Next (and much less rantily), a correction of sorts: when I wrote (OK, mostly just posted pictures) about my awesome 32nd birthday, I forgot to link to a fun Bon Appetit article on 10 Things to Cook When a Hurricane’s a-Comin’. My favorite? The Sam Dean Non-Perishable Tough Times Classic, PB+Spoon:
Find spoon and jar of peanut butter, preferably chunky-style. With a scooping motion, scoop a large blob of peanut butter onto spoon. Can be eaten in one bite, but eating it like a peanut butter popsicle while wandering around your dark house with a flashlight both increases efficiency and prolongs enjoyment. Serves one, unless you’re OK with sharing your spoon.
Aw, yeah. That is totally how I roll, hurricane or no. Sometimes, there’s just nothing like a big scoop o’Skippy, right from the jar (shut up, haters — if I ever want peanut butter that tastes like a mouthful of chewed-up peanuts, I’ll buy some peanuts and chew on them — it’s all about texture). I will, however, once again repeat my complaint that Unilever (or whoever’s in charge of such things) keeps making Skippy sweeter and sweeter, and it’s gross. More nutty, fatty goodness, less sugar, please!
Finally, to end on a completely, unambiguously happy note, I hope you will enjoy today’s Diesel Sweeties webcomic, The B Team. Which reminds me…. I think I’ll go put Constable Cuppa on now. Have a great week, all.
