I have a fantasy. It's not about sex, though. No, this one is about servants. My fantasy is having a prep cook in my kitchen, someone to do all the measuring and chopping, so I can still "cook" dinner, but in a much shorter amount of time. Somehow, someone has intuited this wish of mine, which is why we're suddenly seeing all these wonderful dinner kits everywhere.
Have you seen these? Companies like Blue Apron and Plated will gather all the ingredients you need to cook a dish. They'll chop whatever needs to be chopped and measure anything that needs to be measured. It's all ready for you to assemble and throw over the fire.
When I first came across these kits, I felt a little insulted. What kind of LOSER can't read a recipe, write a shopping list, and cut up her own darn vegetables? Honestly!
Well readers, I am that loser.
Okay, I can write that shopping list and cut up my own vegetables, in theory. But I guess I'd rather not? Am I really admitting this?
Yes, yes I am.
The truth is, I'm busy. A lot of us are busy. We get home after 7:00, and we're hungry, and the kids are hungry, and we'd like to do better than takeout or delivery but ugh ... the time and effort. Is it really so terrible to rely on a crutch like this?
There was a store down the street from me that sold these kits, and I thought it was a brilliant idea. But they went out of business and I'm convinced it's only because they failed to make it even more convenient by offering delivery -- and online ordering. I don't have time to chop my own vegetables. What make you think I have time to lollygag in your brick and mortar store, selecting which recipe to make tonight?
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In fact, I can think of a few other ways enterprising dinner kit companies could make my life easier. They could ask my child for me what he wants to eat for dinner. They could force him to pick a vegetable, any vegetable, and negotiate that before I get home.
Then, if they could just send someone to clean up the kitchen, load the dishwasher, wash the pots and pans, and then tip-toe out, that would be wonderful.
How much would that cost? Oh never mind. I definitely can't afford it.
Here's the fly in the ointment, though. As a former obsessive cook, I'm very opinionated about what goes into my food. So every time I see these meal kits I think, "Wow, this would save me so much time! I love it -- ooh, except what's with all those green bell peppers? Why can't they make this with grass-fed beef?" And then you get the kit and the portions are TINY for the price.
Oh cooking from scratch! Why do you have to be so affordable and completely under my control?
What do you think of dinner kits?
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