Comments for Recipes of the Damned

Comment on What’s So Elitist About Cooking From Scratch? by Catherine

Catherine — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 17:15:05 +0000

It is just a matter of right budgeting. You can eat delicious foods even a small amount of money.

Comment on What’s So Elitist About Cooking From Scratch? by mumimor

mumimor — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 22:17:12 +0000

When I was a student, I lived in a really poor neighbourhood. Really poor. All the apartments were tiny, two room homes, without baths and with a kitchen the size of a cupboard. No central heating. A lot of the residents were single mothers, often with several children in these cold, damp dumps. The women were working long hours when they weren’t on welfare. It wasn’t even romantic for a student.
The corner store was owned by a Turkish immigrant, and he would give all these single moms credit towards the end of the month. But at some point, he decided to run a free cooking class, to teach these women how to live on a budget while using fresh and healthy products. He was seeing these families living from take-away the first ten days of each month, and then spagetti with ketchup bought on credit at his store for the rest.
His principle was that everyone needs meat, vegetables, grain and fruit. But by following the seasons, buying oil, grain and beans in bulk, and cutting down on the beef (not omitting it), every one of “his” mothers were able to stick to budget, while providing nutritious food for their kids. Yes, it was more time-consuming than take-out. But the relief of being clear of debt and being good moms was worth it for them. (And they grew into a little community, helping each other outside of class). Elitist? nah….

Comment on What’s So Elitist About Cooking From Scratch? by Lexica

Lexica — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:21:58 +0000

It’s odd to me to hear Bittman denounced as being fascist or some kind of One-True-Wayer. So many of his recipes fall into what I call “non-parametric cooking” (take a handful of this, a dollop of that, add as much of this other thing as you like, and cook until it’s done) — any time one of his columns like “101 easy summer meals” is published, the criticism is that there’s not enough detail in the directions!

And most of his recipes include something along these lines (copied from the recent citrus salad recipe): “I like a squeeze of lime, but lemon is also fine; a pinch of cayenne or a sprinkling of black pepper is all right but not essential.” So, either lime or lemon is fine; cayenne or black pepper or even nothing at all is fine. How is this fascist and controlling?

I suspect that part of what’s going on is defensiveness from people who do think they ought to be cooking from scratch but aren’t doing it; rather than consider what changes would be possible in their own lives to boost their scratch cooking, they instead lash out. For some people, “another option is possible” gets interpreted as “the way you are doing it is WRONG and you are a BAD PERSON”… when all that was actually said is “another option is possible”.

Comment on In the Kitchen, at the Sink: A Response to Michael Pollan by Lucia

Lucia — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 18:47:56 +0000

Well said, Amy! You’re so money, and you don’t even know it! Miss you

Comment on In the Kitchen, at the Sink: A Response to Michael Pollan by Shelby

Shelby — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 05:12:09 +0000

Great response. I love Pollan’s call-out of the dangers of letting corporations cook for us (paraphrased), but am disappointed in where he takes the rest of his discussion. You fill in some holes really well!

Comment on In the Kitchen, at the Sink: A Response to Michael Pollan by Sallyacious

Sallyacious — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 01:33:39 +0000

So true. My cooking time disappeared every time the semester started up. Once I was teaching and rehearsing/performing, there was no time for anything else in my days, and I HAD a dishwasher.

Comment on In the Kitchen, at the Sink: A Response to Michael Pollan by Lisa

Lisa — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 21:38:01 +0000

Very thoughtful response, Amy. Thanks.

Comment on CHEEZ-IT Soufflé by Jenny Islander

Jenny Islander — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 06:40:34 +0000

Here’s one for you: creamy chicken ramen. I have never been brave enough to try it.

Comment on CHEEZ-IT Soufflé by Sally

Sally — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 21:52:53 +0000

I admit to never having made a souffle. How does this recipe differ (aside from the addition of Cheez-Its) from a standard souffle? I confess to loving them too. So much so that I am now craving their salty-cheddary processedness. Fortunately, there are none in the house.

Comment on Safety Counts, Except When It Doesn’t by Samantha

Samantha — Fri, 29 May 2009 05:02:28 +0000

Want to get really nervous? Read “Twinkie, Deconstructed.” The author investigates every item on the ingredients list, including those made from rocks (no joke!).