Differences.

I had an interesting conversation with a co-worker this morning.  We were discussing the prior evening's activities and I was bemoaning my decision to make soup for dinner - I had made the stock the weekend before but, by the time I added all the remaining ingredients (garlic, onion, kale, spinach, tomatoes, seitan, pesto, seasonings), it was 9 p.m. before it was ready and therefore too late for me to eat it.  She looked at me and said, "Susan, I know this will come as a complete shock to you, but there are some people who will...well...just open a can."

And, by golly, it was a shock!  I realized that I have not opened a can (except for the cats) since...?  Any "canned" goods I use, I have canned myself.  That entails popping off the flats.  I don't even know where my can opener is!  She asked me what kind of soup I had made and I told her it was what I refer to as a Pantry Soup - I am using up my stockpiles.  The garlic is mine, the onion was dried from last fall, the kale was organic from a farmers market, spinach - mine, tomatoes - mine, seitan from the freezer, pesto - mine.  I guess I am so used to real food and cooking from scratch, that I don't even think that it's not the "normal" way people cook.  After all, most of my friends cook the same way. 

Of course, I was also shocked by what she and her family had for dinner (it involved their car and a drive-thru window).  I don't think that cooking from scratch is all that burdensome.  It does take some organization and thinking ahead (ergo my late soup), but it's also fun and a creative outlet.  I know I am preaching to the choir here, but the more we focus on nourishment and not on a fast-fix, the better we will feel.