I had to put the ‘when we can’ part. I had a lengthy talk about this with a friend who was delighted about some ‘meals in minutes’ website that had been forwarded to her. I asked her why she wants to cook meals that fast. Food, in my opinion needs to be cooked for a reasonable period of time to get the flavors going. Try frying a mutton chop and some herbs, spices in butter and using the same stuff throw one in the oven and grill it on moderate heat. There is a huge difference. I like to think of myself as a Gordon Ramsay kinda guy; I don’t like food that is cooked with a micro wave, or worse a pressure cooker.
Why do I think food needs to be cooked in what is gastronomically called a loving manner?
It boils down to acknowledging the work that went into growing the vegetables you eat or raising the cow that end up as a rib-eye steak on your plate. It takes a lot of nurturing and sacrifices from the farmer’s side to get the animal to be in a condition where it can be slaughtered and sold. A lot of love goes into raising animals; you do get attached to them. Farmers will walk through rain to find lost sheep, rush a sick calf to the vet who might be two hours away. My parents used to raise chickens when we were growing up. Slaughtering them was a bitter sweet moment; happy for the meat but sad that there would be one less chicken to feed and chase around. To ease the pain, mom would lovingly cook the chicken with spring onion, carrots salt and chicken stock.
I understand that we live very hectic lifestyles and one cannot be expected to do roasts and oxtail stews after work on a daily basis. There is, however nothing wrong with stir-fry or Carbonara pasta once in a while. Quick to make, decent nosh. Or making a genuine Alfredo sauce, as opposed to the store stuff you simply mix with boiling milk. Why kill the flavour of nice, aged ham with chemicals?
The ‘meals in minutes’ brigade can argue by saying that farmers now raise chickens in half the time it used to take and get birds half the price. If you religiously eat that kind of chicken, then you shouldn’t be reading this blog. You should be Googling for the world record for the fastest grown chicken.
I look forward to the day when people go back to cooking food, as opposed to the current practice of preparing food. Micro waving frozen veggies can’t be called cooking. I would rather buy the precooked meals at our super markets than do those. Atleast those were cooked, I hope.
Honestly, if you can’t set aside thirty minutes an evening to make a meal, then you seriously need to rearrange your schedule.
Why do I think food needs to be cooked in what is gastronomically called a loving manner?
It boils down to acknowledging the work that went into growing the vegetables you eat or raising the cow that end up as a rib-eye steak on your plate. It takes a lot of nurturing and sacrifices from the farmer’s side to get the animal to be in a condition where it can be slaughtered and sold. A lot of love goes into raising animals; you do get attached to them. Farmers will walk through rain to find lost sheep, rush a sick calf to the vet who might be two hours away. My parents used to raise chickens when we were growing up. Slaughtering them was a bitter sweet moment; happy for the meat but sad that there would be one less chicken to feed and chase around. To ease the pain, mom would lovingly cook the chicken with spring onion, carrots salt and chicken stock.
I understand that we live very hectic lifestyles and one cannot be expected to do roasts and oxtail stews after work on a daily basis. There is, however nothing wrong with stir-fry or Carbonara pasta once in a while. Quick to make, decent nosh. Or making a genuine Alfredo sauce, as opposed to the store stuff you simply mix with boiling milk. Why kill the flavour of nice, aged ham with chemicals?
The ‘meals in minutes’ brigade can argue by saying that farmers now raise chickens in half the time it used to take and get birds half the price. If you religiously eat that kind of chicken, then you shouldn’t be reading this blog. You should be Googling for the world record for the fastest grown chicken.
I look forward to the day when people go back to cooking food, as opposed to the current practice of preparing food. Micro waving frozen veggies can’t be called cooking. I would rather buy the precooked meals at our super markets than do those. Atleast those were cooked, I hope.
Honestly, if you can’t set aside thirty minutes an evening to make a meal, then you seriously need to rearrange your schedule.
Yes, I made the NO TO MEALS IN MINUTES thing. Took me thirty minutes, same time it should take to make your fastest meal.
12 comments:
"When and IF we can" I feel should accompany this months interesting blog (is that the frequency? 4got to check). There's absolutely nothing wrong with paying tribute to the nourishing lives which are the source of our protein enriched diets : whether its in the form of giving it a massage before, after or during the cooking or even talking to it while gently spicing it in circular motions for 8hours. Some people look at the whole cooking thing as a journey. We start out as toddlers not even knowing half the terms used in spice world. Two weeks ago I learnt that there is a species of a plant called : star anise, which is used as a spice. now removing the context and presenting me with such a term.... I could have easily thought of it as the last planet the phoenix flies past on its way to the sun. Now after graduating from being able to name a few spices we then try out the quick meals that are provided on the "meals in minutes" websites. This I assimilate with being able to walk, then only can we hope to sprint and go over the oxtail hurdles. I love and appreciate good food and yes most good food is slowly cooked and done so with passion. But with all masterpieces : there's the artist and there's the collector. We need each other and can never ALL be masterpiece be molders. Time, for a change, is not my excuse for not spending a lot of time in the kitchen. Load shedding is....kidding. I do applaud gastronomic geniuses but quick meals also have a place in our hearts, especially when we have no other choices...the longer I keep something on the stove....the more likely it is to come out charred...and THAT the farmer will despise me for. So I, in my own way, try to keep him happy by at least cooking the chicken (sometimes I poke it 2 c if its cooked....I dont think I quite know when its ready) with my assistant : George Foreman.....Now there's a name Im attached to.
Ha ha ha ha.....
Star anise and the galaxy.
Never saw it that way, that its a journey that one has to undergo, from buying a pie at the garage for supper to cooking beef bourgignon.
Maybe we should push for the stove making companies to make them go up to enough temperature to heat, not burn oil. Then people wouldnt be scared of pots getting burnt.
We all have our areas of expertise and passions and cooking for me isn't one of them!!! 30 minutes in a kitchen after a hectic day is more than enough time. So please allow me to enjoy the "meals in a minute" recipes and use the time I have left to do things I REALLY enjoy!!! So far no one has complained about my cooking, but you!
As for buying ready made food from your local supermarket. Bet you they don't chop, chop, chop & chop!!!
Anonymous....
Thanks for the comment. I hope your meals in minutes recipes dont come with a disclaimer about artery clogging, etc.
People cooking meals in minutes are actually missing out on some blooming good food like roasts, stews, etc. and probably consuming more fat than they really should.
I havent complained about your cooking :)
Nope, the food is very healthy! Maybe when I have kids I will consider slaving in front of the stove for hours! Wouldn't want them to miss out on blooming good food :-)
Why not start preactising now? Ha ha ha.
That is actually another sad thing. Feeding kids fast food. I always shake my head when I see some mom taking her children to McDonalds and ordering some supersized meal.
I completely agree with Wabo; minute meals definitely have a special place in a our (bachelorette) hearts! I cannot, after along day at work, even stand in front of a stove waiting for chicken to resemble something half cooked. I cook best when I'm relaxed and looking forward to it.
Gasrtonomic Darkie; a nourishing meal in 30 minutes? Maybe you should teach us how.
Ok assuming we (women of today) all have this problem: of either not being able to concoct these wondrous meals or not being able to do it in the allocated time. What we need is a constructive nudge/ guidance. Did I mention constructive? I forget. Maybe what we should be blogging (in our case googling) is suggestions :)
Tshawe....
Her is a quick one.
Boil some water, throw in some pasta (ideally 250g linguini) and salt and cook till done. In the meantime (Mgarimbe ha ha ha) you take a pan and heat some olive oil (two table spoons) and fry some diced smoked bacon (one packet). Throw in some black pepper.
In a bowl, mix together two eggs, a tub of cream and a handful of grated parmesan cheese.
When the pasta is cooked, drain and mixed with the bacon. Pour in the egg and cream mixture and stir. The bacon and pasta should be relatively warm when you do this otherwise you end up with scrambled eggs. The sauce should be silky. Serve with more cheese. And there you have it: linguini and carbonara sauce. If you want an exctiting twist, grate the zest of a quarter of a lemon and mix it into the egg mixture.
You dont have hectic days all the time at work, there are those when you can afford to cook. Cook atleast three times a week, like a good meal, minute meals for two and then go out or take outs for tho other two.
Mr Njenge... living in the 200 and ntoz has made our lives interesting. Work is no longer about making a buck just to feed the families. We have become more engaged, more driven and we all want to be employers and no longer employees. So wasting time in the kitchen is a thing our grandmama’s did. Hence the McCain advert..”we cooked, and we cooked and Sundays we baked”. The modern woman does'nt do that.. So JUST FORGET ABOUT IT!!!
Secondly, you talk about farmers taking care of their livestock..mmph how do we explain crazy cows running around the farms...ii mad cow disease which has become an ever-looming nightmare. We don’t want to think about the effects it has when a human beings ingest it… scary stuff.
Then we have chickens that are constantly injected with steroids to make them grow faster to meet supply and demands factors. Guess what those steroids do to women… if you combine those steroids with female hormones …we get cysts in our wombs… some of us still wanna have kids one day. So ladies, I know the chicken licken spicy wings are tasty and quick… just don’t over do them. They could be fatal.
Then you have animal feed producers who screw up the ingredients and manufacturing process, leaving us with animals eating contaminated food, where does that leave us. We contract all these nasty things from them…so what’s the point of it all, I ask ?
Back in the day the long cooking process was not only to make the food taste better, but to kill the germs, bacteria and all the wiered crap that was in meet. The good taste just happened by default.
GUESS WHAT… these day’s we can’t destroy the foot and mouth disease, madcow disease etc through cooking, freezing or beating the hell out of our animals.
Soooo… meal preparation these days is just like swallowing cod liver oil… we close our eyes, put our hands over our nostrils, swallow and pray to God we come out of it alive… Trust me the "minute food" is better than the real makoya.
I see no reason for me to spend more than 5 – 10 minutes in the kitchen cooking a dead sheep that might kill me.
It's not about the high heels anymore and careers anymore, its deeper, much deeper.
Luyolo G.....
You mention some important realities. Farming, is no longer a love these days. Its business,and people will cut corners to make maximum money.
We cant help that, unless we run our own organic, ethical farms. This is something rural people should tap into and make a truckload of money.
I think you can actually decrease your chance of having ovarian cysts, and this is by buying from reputable places. I know people will call me a snob, but I buy my meat from two places. The local butcher and Woolies. I can walk into the local butcher, chat to the guys and find out where the mutton comes from. The Woolies free range chicken might cost twice the price of your frozen chicken packs, but its worth every penny.
And cooking these chemical laden meals in five minutes is not going to help you either. Three hours gurantees you a better chance of killing the chemicals and all bacteria.
Lusapho, thanks for the tip and i think (injury allowing) I will actually cook something tonight!!!!
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