Cooking Inspired By This Recession

Anytime Michael Pollan puts fingers to keyboard, people pay attention. So it is this week as he examines the relationship between the decline is actual cooking in American and our obsession with watching cooking on television in the NYTimes Magazine. Following suite is Mark Bittman, on his Bitten blog, who sees no increase in homecooking during the recession, despite the fact that fewer people are eating out. Finally, Tara Parker-Pope, over at the Well blog, asks her readers if they watch people cook on tv?

I don't watch people cook on tv. Anymore. There was a time, years ago, when those early episodes of Iron Chef, the funny shows of Alton Brown, and the live ones of Sara Moulton were a regular staple of our television menu; coincidentally, it was then that we did the least cooking and the most eating out.

Now, I don't really like any of the cooking shows--the food doesn't seem good or original (or it's too original) or . . . appealing. Besides, I'm too busy cooking my own meals. And cleaning up after them. And it takes a lot more than the 28 minutes to cook and the 4 minutes to clean that is apparently the average (or something like that; I didn't check back). The meals aren't from scratch, in the sense that I don't make my own bread or pasta or sometimes even meatballs. But otherwise, it's mostly unprocessed ingredients that I throw together myself. And not just putting mayonnaise on bread, which apparently actually qualifies as cooking!

But am I doing it because of the recession? Nope, not exactly. In fact, cooking at home, the way I do, isn't particularly cheap, especially with our full CSA share, organic products, and the like. But, boy, is it healthier. And more satisfying, both physically and mentally. More my ideal family life, which idea has in fact been cemented by all the talk of recession and simplifying, etc etc etc. Though it's definitely a steep learning curve sometimes--I mess up and sometimes the food isn't quite worth eating for more than one (mediocre) meal. Despite (or would Pollan say, "because of") all the shows I used to watch, cookbooks I've owned, recipes I've hoarded, I still make amateur mistakes. Because really, I'm a relative cooking novice compared to the generations before me: I've been cooking dinner every night for just a few years, versus the twenty-five plus years people my age might have had under their belts at my age a 100 years ago!

When I read Pollan's article, I thought, "I'm going to cook dinner tonight as much from scratch as possible, something new, tempting, that they will like." So, I ran downstairs and started whipping up a batch of homemade "crunchy chicken," Sis's favorite, at least when we eat out, with a broccoli side and some whole wheat rotini. Sis even helped me coat the chicken in flour-milk/egg-seasoned breadcrumbs, and watched me saute it. Which I did in extra virgin olive oil--a no-no because of the smoking point but I'd forgotten about that until it was too late. It turned out great actually, despite the fact that some of the chicken was not fully defrosted (mistake #2, or really #1, because that happened first) and almost burned before cooking through. But I was so proud. I'd cooked a good, healthy, homemade meal mostly from scratch (just don't call it "semi-homemade!"). . . .

And they didn't eat any of it. If I could only solve the picky eater stage, I think I'd be all set! But I'm going to keep trying.