I love making Thanksgiving dinner: I invite a dozen people, take a few days off, and wiggle my butt to The Buena Vista Social Club while I brine, baste, and braise from morning till night. My favorite part of this ritual is setting the table: I try to create a warm, welcoming atmosphere with all the vintage linens, glowing candles, and sparkling crystal that I’ve picked up on cheap at rummage sales. Once a year (or, more truthfully, once every few years) I am a domestic goddess.
EFFORT-LESS
Everyday food preparation, however, is a rushed, harried, nerve-wracking chore that consumes time I’d rather spend at something more profitable, like listing my garage sale finds in eBay. If it weren’t for Thanksgiving, I would gladly pay extra for a house without a kitchen. You know that show, Thirty Minute Meals? Who’s got thirty minutes? (For someone who resents cooking, I do spend a lot of time watching The Food Network. Go figure.)
But we can’t eat out every night – or so Benni claims – so I try to create meals that are quick, cheap, and healthy. The good news is that the most beneficial foods are also the least expensive. A curried tofu-veggie stir-fry costs a lot less than a roast leg of lamb, and doesn’t clog your arteries like the meat-and-potato diet I grew up with. The same goes for the linguine with pesto sauce that I make from my home-grown basil. Here are some lazy-ass recipes from my I’D RATHER NOT BE COOKING files.
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WALK THE WALK
When I watch those Jane Austen series on Masterpiece Theatre, I’m always impressed by how much walking everyone does. They stroll to the village, they saunter to the squire’s mansion, they meander through country lanes just for the simple pleasure of moving one foot in front of another. I always knew that Jane Austen and I were soul mates, and this proves it. I find walking is the cheapest, healthiest, pleasantest way to get from one place to the next.
I read somewhere that New Yorkers live longer than anyone in the country. You would think that the pollution, the stress, the noise of The Big Apple might not make it the healthiest place in America, but you would think wrong. Apparently, the reason for this longevity is that New Yorkers walk. They walk fast. And they walk while carrying things. I’m based in Los Angeles now, and I’ve noticed that when I spend a few weeks in Manhattan, I eat everything in sight (you can’t get cold sesame noodles or a decent pumpernickel bread in L.A.) and always lose a few pounds.
New Yorkers are the fastest pedestrians in the U.S.A. I once arrived at Kennedy on a flight from Houston. As I sprinted off the plane, one ambling tourist drawled, “These New Yorkers are always in such a hurry!” I didn’t stop to explain that it’s because we have something interesting to hurry TO! I was in too much of a rush.
Lecco, a town in Italy, turned its school-bus system into a walk-bus system. The kids who had previously been driven to school now follow the same route on foot – accompanied by paid staffers and parental volunteers. This pied-piper arrangement diminished traffic, cut down greenhouse-gas emissions, and reduced childhood obesity: a win-win-win situation.
I have a friend who has a house in France, and was suddenly taken ill. A visit to the local doctor would have cost four dollars, and a house call was eleven bucks. These big spenders decided to splurge and spend the extra seven dollars. American medical costs are a real problem, and I’m not the one to solve it. There are, however, a few tricks that can help ease the burden.
• The most obvious way to lower your medical bills is to live a healthy life-style. That means cutting back on the booze, smokes, pork rinds and certain – but not all – recreational drugs. It also means having a daily exercise routine, and walking or biking instead of driving. These are all no-brainers.
• You can go online and order your medicines from Canada. It’s legal, and safe, and much cheaper than buying the same item here. One southern U. S. senator objected to this practice, warning against using “socialist medicines.” If you are absolutely dedicated to unregulated free-market capitalism, then I think you should stick to your guns and pay full price.
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