Not cooking potatoes, we ARE potatoes

Thanks to frequent commenter, dorothy, for calling my attention to an article on the state of home cooking in America. It's one of the best food related pieces I've read in a while, so it's no surprise that the writer is Michael Pollan, author of one of my recent favorite books, The Omnivore's Dilmemna.

Today the average American spends a mere 27 minutes a day on food preparation (another four minutes cleaning up); that’s less than half the time that we spent cooking and cleaning up when Julia [Child} arrived on our television screens. It’s also less than half the time it takes to watch a single episode of “Top Chef” or “Chopped” or “The Next Food Network Star.” What this suggests is that a great many Americans are spending considerably more time watching images of cooking on television than they are cooking themselves — an increasingly archaic activity they will tell you they no longer have the time for.

What is wrong with this picture?

27 minutes. 27 minutes for three meals? That's crazy to me. I can understand 27 minutes for a quick weeknight dinner, but....wow.

That's just one of the many provocative point Pollan raises in this piece. I encourage you to set aside some time to read, ponder, and enjoy it.