"Dave Smith" wrote in message ...
> zuuum wrote:
>
>> Many families now have no one at home to prepare meals, and those who do
>> have the time, often found to be without cooking skills or knowledge.
>
> I am not terribly sympathetic to the lack of time argument.

I think it's not so much not having the time as it is not making the time. I
really enjoy cooking so for me spending a few hours making a meal is
something I consider fun. Most weekends I'll devote a good portion, if not
all, of a day to cooking. I guess I do this at the expense of using that
time to do something else, but I don't look at it that way since I'm doing
what I enjoy. Of course, we all have different priorities in our lives and
some of us put cooking a little higher on the list than others.

Some of my friends consider me a pretty good cook and will ask me how to
make something or give them advise on making a particular meal. I can't tell
you how many times I get a few steps into a description of what is involved
and I'm interrupted with, "that's too complicated". This is even for
something as simple as making chicken stock which doesn't require much
active time but from beginning to end can take a while. I got stopped with
the chicken stock instructions the other day after I said, "buy a whole
chicken". Oh well.

I keep almost no prepared food in my house. I just like making things from
scratch.

Interestingly, Whole Foods Market is closing the store in my neighborhood in
a couple of months. It's the smallest store in the chain and they've opened
a store on the other side of town so I figured this day would come. I'm very
disappointed. I've really enjoyed have good quality ingredients a block and
a half away from my house, even if it is on the expensive side. The funny
thing is that when I hear my neighbors talking about the closing they almost
always mention that they will miss the prepared foods. All this time I've
been wishing they'd take the space that they use for prepared foods and
expand the produce or meat departments.

-Mike