Cook the simple thingEveryday life

unbry

Cook the simple thing

A short book about ordering in every night because cooking has turned into an event

27 chapters10,764 wordsAbout 49 minFirst edition

What's inside

·Before you startThis is a short book and you can read it in two or three sittings. It's about one habit, which is getting to seven in the evening, opening an app or the…2 min
1Seven o'clock, the app, and the box on the sideIt's ten to seven. You've been in for twenty minutes and you've done the things you do when you get in, the coat, the bag, the sitting down for a second…2 min
2Why the order makes senseNobody orders a takeaway on a Tuesday because they've weighed it up and decided it's the best use of the evening. They order because at seven o'clock…2 min
3"I'm too tired to cook"You are tired. This chapter isn't going to argue with that. You've worked, or looked after people, or both, and at seven the tank is low, and the thought…2 min
4"I can't cook"You'll have said this, and you'll have believed it, and some of the belief comes from watching people cook on television, where cooking is a performance…2 min
5"It's quicker"Go back to the number you wrote down in chapter 1, the time from opening the app to the first mouthful. If you didn't write it down, the app will tell…2 min
6"It's cheaper, or near enough"I'll keep this short, because money isn't this book's argument, and because there's an earlier book in this series, Put the card away, about spending you…1 min
7"I've earned it"This one's the most honest of the beliefs, because it names what the order is actually for. It's a reward. The day was long and there was nothing good in…1 min
8"I'd only be cooking for one"If you live alone, this belief has weight. Cooking is for people, the picture goes, a table and a conversation, and there's something a bit sad about…2 min
9"The kitchen's a mess"You'd have to clear it first. There are pans in the sink from something, and the board's got crumbs on it, and the counter's got post and keys and a mug…2 min
10"I don't know what to make"This is the seven o'clock question in its purest form, and I think it's the belief that does most of the work. Not "I can't", not "I'm too tired", but…1 min
11"There's nothing in"You open the fridge and there's nothing in, and this is true in the sense that there's nothing that looks like a dinner. What's usually in is half of…2 min
12"A ready meal is basically cooking"You put it in the oven. You use a plate, sometimes. You might add a bit of salad. It's not a takeaway, and it's food at home, so it feels like the honest…2 min
13"A takeaway now and then is fine"It is. This chapter agrees with the belief, and then asks what "now and then" means in your kitchen. Louis Goffe and colleagues, using four waves of the…1 min
14"I'll cook properly at the weekend"This is the event, wearing a Sunday outfit. The plan is that the week is for ordering and the weekend is for real cooking, a roast, something from a book…1 min
15"I need a recipe"If you think you need a recipe, cooking is the event, because a recipe is the event's script. It has ingredients you don't have, in amounts you'd have to…2 min
16"The kids won't eat it"If you're cooking for children, the app has an extra argument, which is that the app knows what they'll eat and the pan doesn't. You make a plain plate…1 min
17What the order costs youThe order costs money, and chapter 6 said the money isn't the argument, so I'll leave it there. The other costs are the ones nobody adds up. It costs the…2 min
18What it does to cookingThe less you cook, the bigger cooking gets. That's the mechanism, and I think it's the one that keeps the habit going long after the reasons in chapter 2…2 min
19The shelfThe method has three parts, and this is the first. The shelf is the short list of things that keep, bought without deciding, so that "there's nothing in"…2 min
20The sixThis is the second part, and it's the one to do with a pen. Write down six plain plates you can make without looking anything up. Six dinners, each…2 min
21Decide before you're hungryThis is the third part. The shelf makes dinner possible and the six make it easy. This is what makes it happen, and it's the smallest part. Sunday, five…1 min
22The decisionHere's the rule. I keep the shelf stocked, I know six plain plates, and I decide dinner before I'm hungry. That's it. It isn't a rule about takeaways…2 min
23Shift work, no kitchen, fatigue, the flat-share, and when it's more than dinnerShift work. If you get in at eleven at night or eat your main meal at three in the afternoon, the seven o'clock question is the eleven o'clock question or…3 min
24When the app came backIt'll come back. A week of late finishes, a cold, a fortnight when the shelf ran out and the standing shop didn't happen, and one night you're on the sofa…2 min
25Seven o'clock, the panIt's ten to seven. You've been in for twenty minutes. The question comes, and the answer was given at eight this morning, so it isn't a question. It's…1 min
·NotesThese notes give the sources behind the claims in each chapter, and say where I'm giving my own interpretation. The book isn't medical or dietary advice.…5 min