"It's a sorry sign that many people consider cooking "from scratch" an unusual and even rare talent...Add to that the persuasive nature of contemporary marketing, which has convinced many people that fast food is not only quicker than home cooking but better and cheaper (it is neither, and in fact only marginally faster, if that), and you have a culinary crisis...Flavor, nutrition, tradition, and enjoyment are often sacrificed at the sacred altar of so-called convenience...Yet although we may gain marginal amounts of time by doing these things, we lose the delights of working in the kitchen, the wonders of creation, the pleasures of time spent in the honest pursuit of tradition and the nourishment of our bodies and those of our family... Everyday cooking is about preparing good, wholesome, tasty, varied meals for the ones you love. This is a simple, satisfying pleasure. Your results need not be perfect to give you this gift, to which all humans are entitled."
- How to Cook Everything, Mark Bittman, (John Wiley and Sons, 1998)