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> You can cook a meal of almost any kind in 30 minutes or less. So the recipe magically chooses itself? So the food magically appears in your fridge? So the

> You can cook a meal of almost any kind in 30 minutes or less. So the recipe magically chooses itself? So the food magically appears in your fridge? So the dishes magically wash themselves afterwards? So the left-over ingredients magically use themselves up? I really hate when people downplay the time cost involved in food preparation by focussing on only one step of the procedure.

sureaboutthis 9y ago
When you cook at home, you decide what you want to cook and find a recipe. From there on out, you have the recipe. Just like restaurants don't magically appear when you decide you want a hamburger. You must choose one. In the time it takes you to go to a restaurant, or order online, I can cook a meal for four at half the price you paid. I hate when people downplay the time and cost involved in eating out as if there is none. Last night, I made a two prime, strip steaks with red potato chips and a side salad. It took me less than 30 minutes. Admittedly, the salad came from a bag my wife bought on the way home cause I forgot to buy vegetables. Most of that time was waiting for things to heat up. A few minutes for the pan. Longer for the oven for the potatoes. This morning we had eggs with melted cheddar, english muffin and bacon. I bought the muffins cause it's harder to make than regular sourdough bread I bake. It took me 10 minutes not including opening up the packages and getting things out of the fridge.
- majewsky 9y ago
  The time-saving alternative to cooking is not eating out (that's insanely expensive if it becomes the norm). The alternative is foods that scale well. I can buy a pack of bread, a pack of cheese and a pack of sausage in 3-4 minutes, and then use that for a week or so to make sandwiches. Preparation time will be 2 minutes per sandwich. Eating sandwiches may be boring, but it is very time-efficient.
ttepasse 9y ago
You seem do think in a waterfall model of cooking: a big plan first and starting from and ending in an empty kitchen. Speaking for my experience: I go to the supermarket once a week, replenishing staples and looking for interesting (and cheap..) stuff. Then later in the week I know what's fresh in my fridge and what's stored the pantry and when I get hungry late afternoon my subconsciousness is thinking about possible meals while I do other stuff. Leftover ingredients go back in the fridge and the cycle of "What's available today?" continues. And I ignore the dishes for every other day or two, because I'm lazy. There is most of the time just one or two steps, because there is a rhythm and practice and a cycle. One-time event cooking in a tabula rasa environment, yes, that's more complicated. But that's not daily life.
- majewsky 9y ago
  But it is daily life for me. The only meal I ever cook myself is dinner (lunch is at work), but I'm not at home many days of the week. If at all, I would be cooking twice a week. Given this situation, it doesn't make sense to buy large quantities of ingredients in advance. Most would just perish. > And I ignore the dishes for every other day or two, because I'm lazy. That's cute. I do the dishes every Sunday. That's how away-from-home I am.
  - verbify 9y ago
    You might want to consider services such as HelloFresh. They're more expensive than buying the individual items at the supermarket, but cheaper than eating out. But the best thing is there's no food waste, and they sell you items meant for just one person - so your grocery bill would remain roughly the same (just with less food waste).

sureaboutthis 9y ago

When you cook at home, you decide what you want to cook and find a recipe. From there on out, you have the recipe. Just like restaurants don't magically appear when you decide you want a hamburger. You must choose one. In the time it takes you to go to a restaurant, or order online, I can cook a meal for four at half the price you paid. I hate when people downplay the time and cost involved in eating out as if there is none. Last night, I made a two prime, strip steaks with red potato chips and a side salad. It took me less than 30 minutes. Admittedly, the salad came from a bag my wife bought on the way home cause I forgot to buy vegetables. Most of that time was waiting for things to heat up. A few minutes for the pan. Longer for the oven for the potatoes. This morning we had eggs with melted cheddar, english muffin and bacon. I bought the muffins cause it's harder to make than regular sourdough bread I bake. It took me 10 minutes not including opening up the packages and getting things out of the fridge.

majewsky 9y ago
The time-saving alternative to cooking is not eating out (that's insanely expensive if it becomes the norm). The alternative is foods that scale well. I can buy a pack of bread, a pack of cheese and a pack of sausage in 3-4 minutes, and then use that for a week or so to make sandwiches. Preparation time will be 2 minutes per sandwich. Eating sandwiches may be boring, but it is very time-efficient.

ttepasse 9y ago

You seem do think in a waterfall model of cooking: a big plan first and starting from and ending in an empty kitchen. Speaking for my experience: I go to the supermarket once a week, replenishing staples and looking for interesting (and cheap..) stuff. Then later in the week I know what's fresh in my fridge and what's stored the pantry and when I get hungry late afternoon my subconsciousness is thinking about possible meals while I do other stuff. Leftover ingredients go back in the fridge and the cycle of "What's available today?" continues. And I ignore the dishes for every other day or two, because I'm lazy. There is most of the time just one or two steps, because there is a rhythm and practice and a cycle. One-time event cooking in a tabula rasa environment, yes, that's more complicated. But that's not daily life.

majewsky 9y ago
But it is daily life for me. The only meal I ever cook myself is dinner (lunch is at work), but I'm not at home many days of the week. If at all, I would be cooking twice a week. Given this situation, it doesn't make sense to buy large quantities of ingredients in advance. Most would just perish. > And I ignore the dishes for every other day or two, because I'm lazy. That's cute. I do the dishes every Sunday. That's how away-from-home I am.
- verbify 9y ago
  You might want to consider services such as HelloFresh. They're more expensive than buying the individual items at the supermarket, but cheaper than eating out. But the best thing is there's no food waste, and they sell you items meant for just one person - so your grocery bill would remain roughly the same (just with less food waste).