Hotcakes or Hoecakes?

Are Women Still Putting it Down in the Kitchen?

Let me just start out by saying this, me personally, I’m one of those women who loves to cook. I really do enjoy it. I am one of those Food Network junkies, and have gotten caught many a time at the company printer printing out chicken casserole recipes instead of weekly reports. Even though I love burning the pot, I also completely understand how time consuming and tiring it can be. We’ve all come home beat from work, only to stare at the short ribs defrosted in the sink like they’re the boogey man —still we find a way to get dinner done, because you gotta eat right? Back in the day growing up in a Southern home my mother and my grandmother always made sure I had a full balanced meal for dinner every night, but it seems like nowadays, that’s simply not the case in many homes of young working professional women across the country.  As I’ve gotten older many of my friends have started co-habiting with their significant others, and the question that seems to keep coming up is…who’s cooking dinner?

As I eavesdrop on my husband when he talks to his friends about their women, and listen at get-togethers with friends, it seems to me like a lot of women just aren’t cooking dinner anymore. Now I know what you’re all thinking, I am not some southern belle brainwashed by the “barefoot-and-pregnant” syndrome but I still think every woman should be able to make a good meal. Don’t get me wrong either, men should certainly be able to handle their share of the kitchen responsibilities, but you have to admit that deep down inside every woman who knows how to get it poppin’ in the kitchen and keep her man fed, full and happy knows they have just a little something over women who burn boiling water.

Most recently, I have come across women who are just simply clueless in the kitchen. I know a few couples in which the woman doesn’t cook and when they move in with their kitchen-clueless man the both of them immediately pack on 20lbs from Chinese take-out and White Castle sacks.  First of all the threat of MSG overdose and stuffing a muffin top in a bikini should make anyone want to learn how to make steamed broccoli and chicken cutlets, not to mention the big bite eating out takes out of your budget. $10-$20 a night for dinner is way more costly than buying monthly groceries.

Even worse, I know a few women, (more than I care to admit) who have children, yet STILL don’t find the time to try their hand in the kitchen to give at least their children a balanced meal. The new trend of non-cooking mothers of the 21^st century seems to be stopping by their mother’s house on the way home from work and picking up dinner that mom cooked for their children and even their spouse! Call me crazy but isn’t that just a little selfish? So mom has to pack in more manager specials to make sure she cooks enough food for her household and yours? So what was the point of growing up and moving out ladies?

If you were to ask most 50 year-old women right now can they cook, my bet is that they will mostly tell you yes, even if they don’t like to, they can. But ask many 25-35 year-olds and I think many of them will change the subject. Somehow this great culture of cooking is getting lost in the later generations. Cooking used to be a way for women to pass down traditions, culture and family history to their daughters, and a way to ensure that their daughters would grow into women who were self-sufficient. So that whether you found yourself a career woman who lives alone, or married with five kids, you would always know how to feed yourself and your family, its just part of the natural order of human behavior.

I am fairly certain that recent years rise in professional women, as well as the bump in fast food availability are factors that have contributed to the decline of cooking sistas. However we should not let these factors deter us. Even if you can live on a lifetime of a California roll a night, we shouldn’t punish our children by our fear of the stove. Children need balanced full meals and also need to learn how to make these meals so that when they are older they will be able to lead balanced healthy lives. Michelle Obama even pointed out this national problem with her campaign “Let’s Move!” dedicated towards putting the smackdown on childhood obesity brought on by poor diet and lack of exercise.

Cooking today is easier than it ever has been before, there are several pre-seasoned, pre-made, microwavable dinner options that are both affordable and easy to make for beginning cooks. So ladies, lets start getting back in the kitchen and breaking out those old traditional recipes from grandma that we enjoyed so much when we were kids, and put a stop this ridiculous and unhealthy cycle of eating out or at other’s expense.

Bon appétit!