Cucinate? Nessuno??

I haven't tried out any new recipes in a while, but a visit to our local Whole Foods store in Columbus/Dublin got me thinking about a few things.

The event on Saturday, January 12th was a healthy eating event, specifically called "Foods to Live By." Most of the food samples contained within the store were made from fresh ingredients, primarily as an example of things that could be created from the foodstuffs sold at Whole Foods. Things on offer included a lentil cheeseburger, a berry smoothie, a baby greens salad with raspberry vinaigrette, a saffron butter rice and shrimp dish, various cheeses, and my favorite -- a tapenade made from Kalamata olives of course, but also dates and walnuts. It was sweet, yet tangy, and really very good.

Problem was - the person who came up with this dish was not able or willing to provide a recipe for it, other than mentioning what ingredients were included. Kind of frustrating given that the primary point of this event was to instruct folks that cooking healthy is easy, and accessible at Whole Foods.

We also enjoyed some sorbetto while we visited the store, I had a scoop each of chocolate and pomegranate, while my wife had pineapple and chocolate. Times are good for the lactose intolerant - there are so many fantastic options out there.

Walking around the store, however, made me think about how great it is to be someone who likes to cook. There are so many options out there for ethnic, specialty cooking that you could make something new every day of your life, for the rest of your life, just from the ingredients readily available at better grocery stores.

Relatedly, in the fore-word of Jamie Oliver's book Cook With Jamie, he says the following, with which I agree wholeheartedly:

Things were so different fifty-odd years ago, when the general public had a good knowledge of cooking. In actual fact, I wouldn't need to be writing this book if we were all as well informed as we were back then, but our priorities about food have changed. It always totally amazes me how people can be totally up-to-speed and knowledgeable about so many different things - computers, music, fashion - but they don't give a toss about what they put in their mouths every day.

If you need proof of what Jamie's saying here, just have a look around at people's carts when you're at the grocery. It really is amazing how many prepared foods people buy. I am guilty of consuming prepared foods from time to time as well. All of us, save for the most dedicated, are.

But we really need to do a better job at preparing foods at home. Foods that don't come from a mix, or a box. It's not hard. And it doesn't have to be expensive. And who knows, we might enjoy it. Hell, it might even cure some of the other ills we have as a society - since we'd probably all talk to each other more often in the kitchen or over the dinner table. We'd probably get together more often with friends, and really get to know them instead of just sitting at a table in a restaurant that is hoping to turn you over for the next 'guest' and blaring music over your conversation lest you forget.

This year, try a new recipe once a month. Or if you're feeling ambitious, once a week. And check out the good vibes you get from picking up a load of veg on your next trip to the grocery. You'll feel good, and you get bags full of food for much less than you'd spend on pre-packaged stuff.

I think you'll like the results.