With all due respect, auntieannie ~~ people who already know how to cook can & do come home from work & put together a nice meal. However, many people simply have never had a chance to cook before they're thrown out on their own. This wouldn't be just students, but also recently divorced people whose partners had been the house cooks.
There is also the factor of scheduling. A couple with busy schedules can at least trade off shopping, cooking, & clean-up duties. A person with a full-up schedule who lives alone doesn't always have the luxury of leisurely food marketing time. And I think we'll all agree that better meals result when people are able to relax & think ahead while food shopping.
So, in all fairness, many people eating ready-made, take-away, etc. would much prefer home-cooked, if it were only possible for them.
Regarding ramen I've seen many families use one package as the main course for dinner, mixed with lots of vegetables and if lucky an egg or some tiny fish and used to wash down the rice that is the main source of calories. Ever seen six hungry kids eat one small ramen?
Re length of time to prepare foods it has been such a constant for all of my adult life that I can't imagine else wise. I started out cooking horidly, I like to think things have improved. Often many foods can be eaten while preparing the other parts. Some of the cabbage or greens raw, then the bones from the meat thrown into water to form the base for soup and by then the rice is cooked to go with the main thing. Almost never eat without a salad, a fresh soup, and something with rice. Two pots, and a bowl. Hardly think ahead just buy stuff and eat it until it's gone. Same basic stuff in the fridge or the garden. Leftovers in tupperware for lunch, maybe fresh rice. I think 8 out of 10 people in the world eat in a similar fashion.
Rice costs 50 cents a kilo.
Some excellent posts here and #31 has a point-ever wonder why people in some countries are so tiny?
Because they eat very very little as children that's why.
"Ever seen six hungry kids eat one small ramen?"
John Mellencamp-"I've seen people throw more than this out"-'Jackie Brown'.
BTW-the reason there's so much salt is easy-Salt concentrated flavour.
Thanks, Chrisyboy. You didn't offend me; maybe tribolite.
bixaorellana, thanks for your support. I don't deserve it: in 10 years I should really have learned how to be a more flexible cook. I didn't use to be like this, but my sorry excuse is that I moved to a new country, can't find the simple things that had become part of my repertory, and I suddenly have to share a very small kitchen and fridge with two other people, which takes some getting used to. For example, I used to make thick soups that would provide food for almost a week. I can't do that here: can't claim the only big pot we have for a full week, and can't stuff more than my share of the fridge.
I finally figured out what your name means, by the way, or rather, where to insert the space. It looked like Maltese before!
shilgia, your excuse isn't sorry. Other things in life interfere with cooking.
Do you have very much freezer space? I live alone & also make big pots of food, which I then transfer to one-quart yoghurt containers & freeze. (be sure to label -- ha ha) Yoghurt itself is a food of which I'm very fond (plain) and it saves going out to buy containers.
I think when I signed up for TT, either there was no option for having a two word name, or I didn't know how to do it. Now that you know where to separate the two parts, you can cut it down when you address me. Too bad I'm not a particularly cute person -- I could be Bixie! What does Maltese look like?
As I said, I do not wish to criticise anyone.
I moved to England two years ago and lived in a shared house for the first time ever, using gas oven and gas hob for the first time as well. Took well to gas hob, but soooo happy I have now moved to a small flat with my bf and we have an electric oven.
OK, I've been lucky, I had ten years of practising making my own food before and can be confident now (only now)
I also wish to mention that outside working hours, I organise events for various organisations, have a social life, and am a moderator elsewhere on the net. I'm fine thank you.
I must say that i simply cannot get excited about ready-made food, certainly because I was so lucky to have been brought up with mom cooking every meal.
bon appetit... whatever your plate holds.
trusted partner
