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True "easy" cooking, if that's what you're after, is far too simple to sustain the magazine and cookbook industry. (Atlantic)
Five things you didn't know about quinoa--including a small bite of worry porn. (Fooducate)
Bonus: By the way, restaurant calorie labeling laws aren't working. (Fooducate)
Homebrewing your own beer is one of those hobbies that can be as expensive as you want it to be. Here's how to do it for less. (The Simple Dollar)
Your doctor doesn't give a rat's ass about your fitness tracking data. (Technology Review)
Finally! The death of sugary cereal. (Atlantic)
Related: How cereal makers hide sugar in plain sight. (Casual Kitchen)
We all know about helicopter parents. The question is, why are they appearing now, in this era? (Bloomberg)
Huh. Television really does rot your brain! (NPR)
Forget about my list of favorite books of 2015 (my post is here), have a look at Bill Gates' favorite books of the year. (Gates Notes)
No, wait, forget about both our lists: here's an aggregated list of all lists of bloggers' favorite books of 2015. Isn't the internet amazing? (Largehearted Boy)
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The Myth of ‘Easy’ Cooking frustrated me. I wanted to ask the author if she wanted some cheese with her whine. Here's a woman who apparently has the knowledge, skills and resources to get meals on the table, but she fails to plan, prep and execute those -- and then whines about it.
ReplyDeleteIt's probably true that "Real “easy” cooking, if that’s what you’re after, is far too simple to sustain a magazine and cookbook industry," especially the glossy magazines and cookbooks that look more like they belong on your coffee table than in your kitchen. If you want to put sophisticated, gourmet food on your table during the week, real easy cooking isn't going to meet your needs. If you're interested in simple, wholesome food -- then easy cooking may be what you're interested in.
Whipping Up a Cookbook Empire With Meatloaf Instead of Sizzle is about the author/editor of the Fix-It-And-Forget-It series of cookbooks. I have two complaints about this particular series of cookbooks: 1) most if not all of the recipes are for slow cookers, and 2) many if the recipes, especially in the older books, call for highly processed foods. I sampled one book on my Kindle the other day and while the only recipes I saw were from the chapter on appetizers, I was surprised that while they might call for convenience foods (canned beans and salsa, for instance) there wasn't as much reliance on processed foods.
I know a lot of people who know who Ina, Giada and Jamie are thanks to the Food Network, but have never and will never buy one of their cookbooks or make one of their recipes. But they will buy and use the "Fix-It and Forget-It" or one of the Gooseberry Patch cookbooks.
Real, easy cooking might not entirely support the magazine and cookbook industry, but I think there is a market for it. However, no matter how you cook, some prep and clean-up are required It's the nature of the beast.
Good comment Wosnes. I felt that like that article inadvertently helps us see a couple of things: sure, "easy cooking" can't sustain the magazine and cookbook industry, but whining about how "easy cooking isn't as easy as they say it is" somehow seems to sustain a lot of internet articles! ;)
ReplyDeleteIt's as if we can only find support out there for narratives that say easy cooking is somehow phony, or that good cooking can't be easy, or--more familiar to CK readers--the old lie that healthy cooking somehow has to be expensive or has to involve overpriced organic ingredients. We hurt consumers with these narratives.
DK
Thanks again for the Friday links - probably my favorite part of CK
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! Thanks for the feedback.
ReplyDeleteDK