'Doc Zone' ran a documentary last night on the novelty of scratch cooking in today's society. Whaaaaat??!!??? I had no idea that no one cooked anymore. Apparently, those of us who do it from scratch are rare. Anne-Marie McDonald went on about how rewarding it used to be to buy basic ingredients and regularly cook for your family. Man, where have I been?! I do it three times a day and always have.
She interviewed famous chefs who explained how to have three food groups in each meal, how to prepare "weird" foodstuffs such as turnips. Turnips are weird? Who knew! I do recall a woman behind me at the checkout a few years ago asking me what "that" was. "It's a squash," I replied. "What do you do with it?" she asked. "I have seen things like that, but I don't know what they are or how to cook them," she added. I explained you just cut it open, take out the seeds and bake it.
What could be easier or cheaper? But there she stood, waiting to pay for a cart-full of sodium-and sugar-laced junk food. Do they not teach hom-ec anymore? I learned a lot in that grade eight kitchen class -- or rather I learned that what my mother made happen in the kitchen was all good. Talking with someone the other day about the rising cost of food, I said I was very glad I had learned how to prepare foods and staples our mothers and grandmothers served -- like root vegetables and frozen green beans in February instead of arugula and fresh spinach.
Yep, food has been hijacked by big business and we're all the worse for it. Here's to turnips!
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