That sounds good; the homemade gnocci.
I agree completely, it frequently does not take that much more effort to make most things from scratch. This might sound a bit woo-woo, and I don't know the answer to this question, but....I wonder if there is something to the idea that foods taste better, or are in other ways better, if there is love and care put into their preparation? My left brain says no, my right brain says yes.....

Oh I certainly understand that for some people the minute and a half savings is worth $3. In fact, sometimes it's worth it to me, but I always try to look at the product and think about what it is I'm saving/paying for.

What I meant is how often do we buy the "convenient" package without even considering what it is that we are paying for/saving? For example, I've seen washed potatoes, individually wrapped in plastic. The idea is that these are clean and ready to microwave. They are 4 times the price of a regular baking potato. What does it take to wash a potato? 5 seconds? Maybe 10? Are the people buying these thinking that it is worth it to them to pay 4x the price to save 5 seconds if washing. Maybe they are, and if so more power to them, but I wonder how often the choice is made based on imagined convenience.

Growing up my mom did all the cooking except for an occasional broasted chicken night ~ which was soooo good!! Being from the mid-west the meals were pretty much meat, potato and veggie...then she learned how to make lasagna, that with spaghetti pasta and Hunts Spaghetti sauce was our Italian. Living in California she learned the art of frying tacos and making burritos. Just plain and simple meals. Chili was hamburger, chili powder, tomatoes, tomato sauce and beans. We loved it.

Where we lived jack In The Box was the only fast food joint around...you got 5 hamburgers or 4 cheese burgers for a $1.00 ~ IF we got to go to Jack's and IF we got a cheeseburger we knew dad had a GOOD paycheck that day and another one was coming Being in construction then one just never knew.

In the late 60's early 70's a business called Chicken Delight opened up here in southern California...mom had started working then since all us kids were in high school or jr. high. On friday nights we would sometimes follow the slogan "Don't cook tonight call Chicken Delight!" Then OMGosh...they started delivering pizzas too! The eary 70's were the first time that parents my folks age started having some "extra" money...at least in my area and friends.

I never really had fast food until my kids were involved in sports, then it was get home from work ~ go to practice or game ~ swing by and get fast food. It becomes a habit.

A habit we broke many years ago. We still have an occasional fast food meal but it is rare.

It is really easy to cook...if you can read and follow recipes! I learned that from Angie ~ that is also how I ended up in 3FC ~ most of you have heard the story so I won't bore you with it.

Not everyone enjoys cooking ~ I learned to really like it, providing I had the time to prepare. I am one that needs to search what I am going to cook ~ shop for it ~ and make it. Angie comes in and wham bam dinner is done!

As for ME ~ RACHAEL RAY'S 30 Minute Meals take me an hour and a half!

My favorite dish is the one when I ask Angie "What is your favorite meal babe?" Her answer..."Whatever YOU are making dear!"

I have buddies that say "Oh I could never cook like you, I don't know how to use the spices or even what they are." Yep ~ spices are a real MACHO thing

Now ~ would you consider opening a jar of marinara or spaghetti sauce and pouring it over spaghetti FAST FOOD or cooking from SCRATCH or NEITHER

If you can and chop peel two pounds of carrots in 2 minutes, you've got fantastic, fantastic knife skills.

Again, I think we need to be careful not to confuse our personal value systems with universal goods and bads. You want to peel vegetables. I'd rather use the time to do something else. I'm not saying that your way is wrong, and I'd appreciate the same courtesy in return.

Sheepishly raising hand. I buy those.

For me, we don't do a lot of potatoes. Hubby has a baked potato maybe once or twice a month, and I might have a sweet potato about once a month. Got one of each on the counter now. Anyway, buying them by the bag is out. Individual, sure. But it's not just the washing. I'd STILL nuke it. I eat on the run a lot, so I might decide 10 minutes before dinner to have that potato, and that's just not enough time for baking. I PREFER the taste of baked, I just don't prefer to put my meal off for so long. And having it wrapped DOES help the taste in the microwave. I've bought individuals and wrapped them in plastic myself. They still just don't do as well as the shrink wrapped ones. Don't know why.

(To clarify, my tone is meant to be casual and friendly, not sarcastic or in any way hostile).

Maybe it wasn't clear from my post, but I was not bashing convenience foods or people who use them. In fact, I did state that I too use them. I was just saying sometimes I find myself (and I think others do as well) buying the "convenient" package, without really thinking.

I haven't baked a potato in the oven in, well actually I barely remember cooking potatoes in the oven. My parents got a microwave when I was in high school, and I know neither Mom or I have baked potatoes in anything else since.

I wasn't even bashing the potatoes in plastic, they just seemed so funny to me, because when I compared them to the potoatoes in the bin, the bin potatoes seemed just as clean, so obviously they are washed too. I was definitely not aware that there was a taste difference, but since I like the taste of a regular potato well enough, I'll still pass.

There isn't a single convenience product that I think people "shouldn't" buy, I was just saying I wonder how often we buy the more attractive, seemingly more convenient package without really thinking. I think mindful shopping is as valid a concept as mindful eating.

Not too long ago, I was talking with a friend who was really upset because she said she couldn't afford groceries, and she and her husband made too much to qualify for foodstamps. When I told her what my husband and I spent on groceries for the two of us she didn't believe me. It was about 1/4 what she and her husband were spending. When we compared grocery lists they were surprisingly similar, except for where she shopped (the "best" grocery store in town, also the most expensive), how she shopped (never checked out sales flyers, and never bought marked-down items, or lesser known brands), and some differences in the amount of convenience foods, some of which I'd barely consider convenience items (boneless chicken breasts, where we buy bone-in pieces, and boneless thighs, and buy in family packs and divide at home for the freezer).

She was shocked that only a few minor changes could cut her grocery bill by 75%.

She was also shocked that we bought rotisserie chickens often, because they're "so expensive." In her grocery store they were, $6 or more for a small rotisserie chicken. The Walmart sells them here for about $4 (about 50 cents more than a whole chicken). We buy the chicken. Have chicken night one. Chicken salad or some dish using shredded chicken like a pasta casserole night two, and then hubby or I make soup from the carcass, or I freeze the carcass to make soup later.

I wasn't trying to make my friend do it my way, and I'm not doing that here either, just reminding her that there were choices. And that's what I think this really is all about, knowing what your options are.

I don't think some people understand that the 'degree' of effort isn't what matters to some. Some people simply don't care to be in the kitchen doing food prep....and some people REALLY don't have the time

Me? I guess I have the time, but in addition to not liking 'food prep, I also happen to like the taste of really well-made food (which I don't know how to prepare, and don't want to learn)...so, I eat basic 'no prep' foods like fresh produce (pre-chopped from Whole Foods, thank you), and treat myself to 'restaurant food' a couple times a week.

I also don't care to learn how to repair cars, perm my hair, or paint my toenails (without making a mess), so I go to people who are better at it than I am...and who (hopefully) like doing it.

I'm not trying to be snarky, but there really are more important things to ponder... Why do some people buy a $3 cup of coffee from Starbuck's when they can make it for a dime at home? *shrugs*

Why do some people buy their clothes from the store when they could make them themselves? *shrugs* (It certainly is more 'convenient' to buy them in the store...)

Why do some people drive a car, when they could take the bus for cheaper? Convenience?

I agree.

Totally.

kaplods, there is definately a better flavor to the wrapped potatoes. They're made for nuking. Something about the plastic keeps them fluffy and moist. And I'd tried many other ways of fixing them in the microwave, like adding a bit of water to the dish. Nothing I did kept them as moist as they keep in the plastic. So I tried wrapping them myself, but I guess it's because you can't get it airtight like they do with the shrink wrap. I've even tried nuking a potato partway then finishing it in the oven. But IMO, oven baked tastes best, then the shrink wrapped nuked potato comes in second best.

On the chicken, I also buy the boneless/skinless. The bone-in is cheaper, but it's one of the luxuries I don't sacrifice on as it's part of my hate to cook deal. I hate cutting up chicken. It's icky, squishy, and just...well...nasty. But it TASTES good. After cooking that is. LOL

Wow, Jo, You have quite the thread going here. Just to let you know we live nearly 30 min. from most eating places so I do most of the cooking from scratch and have a big garden. It's going to take me quite awhile to read all this.

Yeah, Mini-Me there are a lot more important things to ponder, but I figure this thread at least is a lot more pertinent than what Paris Hilton is doing this week.

I ponder a lot of stuff, and I don't image any of it is going to solve world hunger, or bring peace to the Middle East. My husband teases me all of the time, at the weird, pointless, and trivial things I think and talk about.

I don't think any of us need to justify our choices, or our opinions, but I don't feel that discussing them is pointless. I know I learned a few things from this thread, including that those microwave potatoes aren't as ridiculous as I imagined. I may even try sealing a potato in my vacuum sealer cooking bags, and see if I notice a difference. I still don't see myself paying fourfold for a tater, but I wouldn't buy a $3 coffee either (then again, I wouldn't buy a 10 cent cup of coffee, because I hate coffee).

The last several summers, I've paid up to $5 per lb for Ranier cherries, and not just for 1 lb. I usually buy about 7 lbs or more during the short season, and it's the only fruit or sweet that I eat during those 3 - 5 weeks. I eat them until I'm almost sick of them. My mother thinks I'm nuts for spending $20 - $30 in a month for cherries, when "bing are just as good." Blegh, I don't think so.

As to the carrot comment, I did say "a couple" carrots not 2 lbs. However, I just asked my husband (just now as I'm writing this), how long he thought it would take him to peel and chop 2 lbs of carrots. His first question was "how do you want them chopped." After having to explain that this was a hypothetical question, and I did not actually want him to chop 2 lbs of carrots, his immediate answer was "2 minutes." Ok, I almost fell off my chair laughing (with my husband looking at me as though I had finally crossed the line between quirkiness and stark-raving lunacy). I then told him the story of this thread, and he said "well, if you just want carrot sticks for snacking or chunks for cooking with a roast, I can guarantee 2 minutes, if you wanted it sliced for soup or diced for mirapois, then I'd probably need about 5 minutes."

Yes, my husband does have exceptional knife skills, from years of experience as a Sous Chef and Saucier in fine restaurants. In fact, after almost 5 years of marriage, I am still not allowed to touch his "good kives." My time is usually about twice his, but I still stand by the statement that I can peel a couple of carrots and tear lettuce for a salad in 2 minutes." That doesn't mean I expect anyone else to do it, or want to (though knowing my husband, I can see him buying 2 lbs of carrots in the very near future to "prove" his skills to me, whether I want him to or not. Maybe I'll have him by 4, and I can see if I can improve my time).

Again, I don't mean any offense. I don't feel anyone should have to peel a carrot, touch raw meat, or even own a single pot or pan if they don't want to.

I'm actually finding this thread rather funny in a way. People feeling guilty and getting defensive over something they shouldn't ever feel guilty or defensive about. And folks reading a "high and mighty" tone into posts when it's just not there. I think we just have to accept the fact that in our neo-modern urbanized society things considered commonplace years ago have been placed on a pedestal. We users of modern day convenience items simultaneously revere and resent those who are able to do for themselves. We assume those who are able to cook from scratch, generate their own power, use non-polluting transportation, etc are looking down on us as useless consumers.

I admit to being a total convenience-whore myself. And it's been written into my brain as a new yuppie that I should feel bad about this, even though I'm not being encouraged to change my ways in any drastic form. At the grocery the other day the hippie-momma in front of me in line had all fresh veggies and unprocessed ingredients. I couldn't help but think she must have a poor opinion of me with my frozen veg and prepackaged meals. In reality, she probably didn't care one whit about my groceries. But I went ahead and projected my own guilt onto her. My mother spends all her free time reading books (mostly quality non-fiction). Although she has never spoken to me about it I feel she must look down on my husband and myself because we'll spend hours in front of the tv. Of course, to make it more palatable to myself, I'll say "at least I'm watching the History Channel and not insert-mindless-show-here".

Liberal guilt? Perhaps. But that's something most Gen-xers like myself have learned to live with. It's part of our daily lives. We assuage is periodically by going to the farmer's market or riding a bike somewhere. But it's still wholly ingrained in our lives...we can feel a bit of smug, but there's always someone "better" than us out there.

Is anyone right or wrong here? Not at all! Different strokes for different folks and all that. But let's not let our own feelings of guilt over losing touch with a simpler time make us all snippy with one another. It's just another fascinating cultural phenomenon.

Old-fashioned. Modern. I guess I never thought of them with value judgements attached, but I think you're right, we're expected to make a choice between the two, set values upon and justify our choices, and feel guilty no matter what we do. It's kind of a shame, because that means they become almost taboo subjects.

It's funny because when the bottom dropped out of our budget, we simultaneously had less money, and more time to shop. In many ways we did have to go back in time a bit, though it was all new and exciting at the same time. It really was an "everything old is new again," experience. I never really thought of our "old ways" as bad, nor our "new/old ways," as good. Just exciting because they were new (at least to me). I actually made PICKLES last year (ok, they were refrigerator pickles, as I'm terrified of canning), but I was very proud of those pickles - and it was a bit amazing to realize that even though I had bought everything from the vegetables, to the vinegar, to the jars - I still saved money. I have to admit to feeling like a bit of a domestic goddess (for a few minutes anyway, until I looked at my tiny massacred kitchen, and realized what a pain it was going to be to clean up without even a dishwasher to help) - not to mention the 6 month loss onf an entire shelf of fridge space.

I guess I'm trying to embrace it ALL. I want to hear about new technologies, new conveniences (food and otherwise), and I also want to hear about "back to nature, back to basics, lost arts...". Part of me would love to live on a little hobby farm, "off the grid," in an eco-friendly, solar heated cottage making everything we need. But part of me wants to be on the bus route, with all of the conveniences, shopping, dining and entertainment opportunities available in a semi-urban setting. I know we're told we can't have both, but I don't see anything wrong with having bits of each.

My husband and I were talking about this this afternoon at lunch. I need some buttons for a sweater I'm making, and I wanted to stop at the thrift store for buttons, because the buttons are dirt cheap and so beautiful. We both reminisced about playing with the buttons in our grandmother's "button jars," which had already become virtually obsolete when we were kids (our mothers never had button jars). I remember my grandmother scolding my mother for not clipping the buttons off of old clothing before tearing them up for rags. I don't remember when my mom stopped using old clothes for dust and wash rags, but that's also a thing of the past.

In some ways, I do think it's wrong, or at least short-sighted to be wasting so many resources, but I'm certainly not better about it than anyone else. Hubby and I use far more than our fair share of disposable and paper products (because hubby and I both hate doing dishes, and don't have a dishwasher).

I do wonder what our great grandparents would think of our society. What modern technologies and habits would they be awed by, and what would they find utterly ridiculous. Culture is a fascinating thing, and it's always changing.

This thread is fascinating to me, thanks to all the people who have taken the time to post their thoughts and thanks Spiny for starting this thread! I'm thankful to live in a time when there are so many choices.

EZ--I think my mom must have been your mom's twin. We kids now recall how Mom learned how to make "teh lasagna" back when I must have been in high school (70's). It was something new and oh-so-good, and we would all drool when it was cooking. Then a few years later she learned how to make a chicken and broccoli stir fry that was awesome. I did not realize what a fantastic cook my mom was--how she could stretch a dollar, please 5 kids and a fairly picky husband, and just keep at it even if it was boring--until I was much older.

And the whole eating out thing? My dad got paid on the first of the month. On that day my folks went out for a nice meal, and we got McDonald's 25 cent cheeseburgers or pizza. Oh joy!

Oh man, so much drama is a'brewin' in this thread!

I buy quick and easy things, because I work ten hour days. I ride my bike ten miles each way to get to and from work. Now, I realize I chose to do this, and I have an excellent reason for it: if I didn't ride my bike to and from work, I probably wouldn't get much exercise on the days where I work. Anyway, between the early rising, long hours, 20 mile bike rides, and Florida heat, I am NOT in the mood to do ANYTHING when I come home from work. Cooking takes too much time and effort for me on most days, unless it is something that takes 30 minutes or less.

However, even as a fan of quick 'n easy things, I do find the pre-washed potato idea to be a little silly.

The disadvantage to quick 'n easy meals is that they're highly processed and often full of ingredients that I can't even attempt to pronounce, not to mention the horrendously high sodium levels.

Wow, Nightengale - you put more effort into a day's worth of bike riding than I do in a year's worth of cooking!

One more thing I want to add is that, (not talking about apples here) with prepared fast foods is that they are almost always too salty or too sweet for my tastes. I just plain don't like them, even if it were shown that sugar and other sweeteners and salt were the healtiest things on the planet, I wouldn't like 'em. Prepared yogurts with fruit (and sweetener) added -- too sweet for me. Canned sauces and frozen entrees -- too salty. Again, I am sure there are exceptions, but this is just an overall assessment.