I’m a horrible cook. And the sad thing is my Dad use to cook pretty well, and a whole lot better than my Mom (he could even install ceramic tile and change a car’s timing belt- at the same time!) My family had high hopes for me; thinking I would ‘inherit’ the knowledge threw some gene. But I was an artist through and through…even to the point of not really getting ‘sports’ (still don’t).
When I went off to college it was no wonder that I lost nearly 20 pounds in my first 2 months (I once heard it was suppose to be the other way around?). My grandmother thought I discovered crack, ‘Scooby snacks’ or worse…became a ‘vegan’! (BTW-she thought that was a cult) I didn’t. I just couldn’t make, or cook, anything. My grandmother even tried giving me canned food. But I just couldn’t get myself to eat that stuff. I tried SPAM for the first time when I was 19 and didn’t know what quite to make of it.
My diet consisted of Water, Cup-A-Noodles, Top Ramen, PB&J, Cookies, Fruity Pebbles, Capt’n Crunch (with Berries)… I didn’t have much cash (like the other kids in the schoolyard), so I didn’t eat out a lot.
But something miraculous happened, “Jack in the Box” (a fast food place out here) had a corporate PR scare at the time. They were thought to be using Kangaroo meat on some of their products and didn’t know (or tell) people about it until some undercover news exposed it. Jack in the Box became a ghost town; they even started using real meat again, but nobody showed up. Except me! They ran this promotion selling 3 deep-fried tacos for $1. AND 1 burger, 1 deep-fried taco, and fries for $1. I didn’t care if it was dog or monkey meat, anything deep-fried makes anything taste better.
What does this have to do with Chef Boyardee? Nothing.
Why are you writing about this? I’m not sure. It’s a blog for crying out loud.
BUT, A few points here:
1. If your kid is going off to college. Show them how to make something. In case you didn’t know, fast food isn’t healthy.
2. Besides the ‘art’ lessons I plan on giving my daughter (and 1 more future kid), I want to make sure they know how to cook and not judge Kangaroo meat too harshly. If it’s good enough for “them Aussie’s” then it’s good enough for me.