Julie wrote:

> So I bought the book called 20-Minute Menus by Marian Burros. Luckily I
> got it used and didn't pay much for it because it is totally worthless to
> me. The book seems to presume that the people buying it don't know a thing
> about cooking. They tell you if the recipe calls for an 8 oz onion but
> you only have a 10 oz. onion to either discard the 2 oz. or add them to
> your dish. Say what? Who weighs their onions? Really?
>
> I do not seem much at all in that book that I would like to eat. It's big
> on fish dishes. I already know how to make things with chicken nuggets.
> I know how to make lasagna without meat. In fact I never put meat in
> mine. I know how to make hamburger patties. It's just far easier to make
> them already made up. Same with the chicken nuggets. Now that's really
> fast food. Buy it already made. Which is what I would think they would
> tell you to do since they tell you to buy the breadsticks, whole wheat
> bread, pesto, etc. already made up. You are also supposed to buy your
> veggies cut or sliced already.
>
> This book might be good for someone who truly doesn't know how to cook or
> stock a pantry. It also tells you how to do that and what the game plan
> is for the meal.
>
> So whoever recommended this book to me (I can't remember), thanks but no
> thanks!

I'm the one who recommended the book. I stand by my recommendation. Your
objection seems to be that the instructions are written too clearly, which
strikes me as a bizarre thing to complain about.

The book is "big on fish dishes" because fish cooks quickly. Did you expect
to see some secret method of cooking an entire brisket in 20 minutes?

The author doesn't assume you don't know how to cut up vegetables. She
advocates buying pre-cut vegetables to save you time in the kitchen. You are
of course free to cut up your own vegetables, realizing that doing so will
cost you some time while saving you some money.

Bob