The Non-Cook Manifesto
Sixth Installment
Sixth Installment
WORKING DEFINITION OF THE TERM NON-COOK
A non-cook is a person who does not think of herself or himself as a cook.
A non-cook is a person who does not think of herself or himself as a cook.
BRIEF NOTES ON LIMITS You are a non-cook and you are prepared to define yourself as such just as surely as you know your limits. Those limits of yours are active and roaming: they begin near the cutting board on the kitchen counter, cruise over to the stove top, move right down into the oven, then pop out and sit around on the counter top where you’re supposed to be putting the finishing touches on dinner. And if your limits are not taking a tour of the kitchen, they are taking a tour of your head: I can’t. I’m bad at it. I don’t want to take charge. I don't want to take responsibility. O.K., so lacking the patience, I do not want to take the time. I don't have that clever efficiency with food. Ditto that generous abundance. I lack the feeling for it -- the wholeness or the connection, however that can best be described. I mean, there are specific foods that I care about eating, but I specifically would rather not prepare them – call me lazy – that would also be true -- but the bottom line – the line underneath the Chinese takeout, soup from a can, breakfast cereal for dinner, and semi pathological avoidance of grocery shopping is that I’m not interested in improving. Not really. The thought of cooking fills me with anxiety and dread. It also fills me with a fear, which is fear of failure, which is not irrational given my track record. Your limits’ expiration dates have not passed. They are safe. They are comfortable. They are available for your personal non-cook use at any old time --especially mealtime, but snack time, too. And the same exact thing goes for your limitations, too. |