Sunday, November 20, 2005

Bachelor Cooking in the Convenience Age

Man, am I ever glad to be a party-of-one in the 21st century! My last foray into singleness was between 1973 and 1978. What a world of difference, then and now. I just finished dinner, which took all of, oh, maybe 40 minutes from "what's in the freezer?" to "dishes done!" "What didja eat, Buck?" you may ask, certain in the knowledge I'm gonna tell you. Well, OK...I had Chicken Parmigiana & Penne, plus a large green salad with sliced tomatoes and cucumbers. And it was good. The salad (save the tomato and cuke) came out of one of those salad bags, and aren't they great? So many varieties! I like the Spring Mix, which is essentially edible weeds plus radicchio. Mmm-mmm-good!

If this were 1977 the best quick meal I could have hoped for was a Swanson's TV dinner, a can of soup, or the perennial favorite...fried egg sandwiches. When it came to frozen entrees, the brand name was immaterial; they were all pretty much the same. Back in those days you could flip a coin...heads - the box, tails - the contents...and the taste would've been the same. Probably equal amounts of nutrition value, too, but I'm sure the box has more fiber. Today one is overwhelmed by choice when strolling the frozen food aisle. Even here in the provinces, where we have excellent frozen Mexican food produced by a specialty outfit in Albuquerque.

In large metro areas a single guy can whip into his local grocery emporium on the way home from work, and likely as not, buy a complete hot meal (or sushi, if that's your thing). Dinner's done the minute you walk in the door. I did that a LOT when I lived in Rochester (Wegmans!) and SFO. Beats the HELL out of Mickey-D's, although that ain't saying much.

Damn, but I love technology! And lastly...don't get me wrong, I can cook, and I do it well. It's just not much fun doing it alone. Compliments! You need compliments!

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