Culinary delights

Since the disappearance of our kitchen into a skip 2 weeks ago, Nick and I have been subsisting on take-aways, breakfast cereal and microwaved meals.

I never really appreciated the horror that are microwaved meals. Not necessarily because they taste bad, (although, to be frank, most do - I have a curry last week that definitely smelt of vomit) but more the strange meal experience.

1) Decide who is going first - microwaved meals force food to be eaten consecutively rather than collectively.
2) pierce the film and put in microwave.
3) 5 minutes later, tip slop onto plate and gobble up the meager portion in front of the television.

Meanwhile Nick is heating up his food. By the time his is ready, mine has been consumed, and I am left with a really strange sensation of 'Did that meal actually happen?' The whole experience lasts about 8 minutes, from deciding what to eat to washing up the plate.

Eating like this has made me realise just what an important ritual mealtimes are. We do not always cook elaborate meals by any means, neither do we always sit at the dining table to eat, but the simple act of preparing a meal and sharing it with another person is central to our culture. I can't imagine being a family who live totally on ready meals - and I know lots of families do.

Health issues aside, I think it's sad that some people's meals are eaten in solitude and are over in 8 minutes. I guess it leaves more time for soap operas.