Bob Myers wrote:

> I have to wonder how much of that is due to their own
> experience in trying to cook for themselves. Let's face it,
> if you don't like to cook, then what you cook is very likely
> going to be inferior to what you can buy, in terms of flavor
> and consistency. On the other hand, those of us who DO
> like to cook know that we can turn out meals that are a lot
> better than anything we'll get pre-packaged in the store, or
> even in most restaurants.

That was an issue with my parents. My mother loves to go out for dinner. My
father hated it. He didn't like spending money on dinner when my mother's
cooking was better than most restaurants.

My brother and his wife used to go out for dinner at a local eatery every
Friday night. We went with them a few times and rarely got out of there for
less than $60. Normally on a fRiday night I would pick up some salmon to
grill, a fresh loaf of bread, some Bibb lettuce, an avocado and a bottle of
wine. It took less than 20 minutes to throw dinner together and it was a heck
of a lot better than we would have had at the restaurant for three times as
much. It wasn't much work and there was not a lot of cleanup.