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Why Bother To Cook?

Stein
/
KNKX
A nutritious, healthy meal is just a call or a click away.

Nancy Leson sent me a link to an Op-Ed published in the New York Times recently by Smitten Kitchenfood blogger and cookbook author Deb Perelman.  The title: Never Cook at Home: Trust me, I know it's a drag.

We're both big fans of Deb's, have her books, and frequently cook her recipes.  So at first I was puzzled by her headline.  But after reading what she had to say about not cooking I had to agree that the always down-to-earth Perelman made a lot of sense. And this from a guy who loves to cook.

As I tell tell Nancy, I'm no missionary for cooking.  I do it because it's fun, I enjoy the process and the focus.  Most of all, it's a reliable way for me to have my food just the way I like it.

Nance and I are both lucky to have plenty of time to do the kind of cooking we like.  No long commutes, regular hours and no conflicting food phobias, diets, etc. to contend with among fussy eaters in our families.  It's just DeGroot and me at our house, and the same for Nancy and Mac now that son Nate is off to college.

But these days there are so many options for those who can't or don't want to cook: ordering in, eating out, buying ready-made from the store.  And now, for those who want to dip a toe, the proliferating variety of meal kits.  

"I adore to cook.  It makes me feel mindless in a worthwhile way." – Truman Capote

Dick Stein joined KNKX in January 1992. He retired in 2020 after three decades on air. During his storied radio career, he hosted the morning jazz show, co-hosted and produced "Food for Thought" with Nancy Leson and wrote and directed the Jimmy Jazzoid live radio musical comedies and 100 episodes of Jazz Kitchen.