So I was reading this article a while back. The writer expressed horror at some cookbook or other that she'd found, which called for canned this, frozen that, prepared the-other. She seemed to feel this was a deep moral failing.
Similarly, I just got this otherwise wonderful casserole cookbook, "Bake Until Bubbly," out of the library. (Isn't that the best title?) But the book and I got off to a bad start when the author started dissing the traditional American casserole:
"The casserole made of leftover overcooked diced chicken breast with celery, water chestnuts, overcooked broccoli covered with canned cream of mushroom soup, and a quart of Velveeta topped with crushed Fritos has had its plug pulled and is banished forever to the dustbin of culinary history."
Okay, well, I hate water chestnuts, and overcooked broccoli is indeed depressing. But...dude. Do you not get it?
Canned, prepared, processed, and already-cooked food is safe.
It will not potentially sicken your two year old if she gets her hands in it while you're trying to cook.
It will not go bad after its fifth night in the refrigerator while you're having your latest crisis (late night at the office, crying kid, not feeling well, someone's dog died, it's Lizzy's gymnastics night, it's Kelly's swim meet, you have to get that old couch to the dump, you have to drive fifty miles through the snow to pick your second cousin's girlfriend up at the bus station because his car broke down....you know, life as we know it).
It's life-proof.
Yeah, yeah, health, taste, blah blah. I know. I know. But seriously. Today, you can get 99% fat-free canned cream soups to cook with, and frozen vegetables, and low-fat, low-sodium dressings and soy sauces. You do not have to use Velveeta. Or Fritos.
Meanwhile, the circumstances that gave rise to 20th century uber-convenient American home cooking have not gone away. People's schedules are more crowded and chaotic than ever, and, news flash, home cooks are not chefs.
The link is to Laura Shapiro's politely blistering review of Gordon Ramsay's "Fast Food." It says, "Gordon Ramsay says he can make you a more efficient cook. Don't believe him."
The idea behind the Ramsay cookbook is that, because chefs can turn out smokin'-fresh fare in less time than it takes most of us to find the can opener, YOU CAN TOO, if you just follow these tips.
Uh...no, says Shapiro. "Take note: Cookbook writers are different from you and me...They're professionals...The only really useful shortcut in the kitchen is knowing how to cook."
Meaning that the rest of us do not, in fact, have the years of training necessary to be able to turn an onion, five carrots, six garlic cloves, four potatoes, some flour, butter, cream, white wine, breast of chicken, prawns and cheese into a main-dish gratin in thirty minutes. 'Kay? It sounds easy, but guess what! It ain't!
I know that some people are exquisitely sensitive to how fresh their food is, so canned goods just won't work for them. For the rest of us, though...spurning even a low-fat canned cream soup because "it's not fresh" is self-defeating IMHO.
I guess...as with all things, it's important to ask WHY they are the way they are before you start pointing fingers. Especially with something like food.
