Convenience

The older I get, the more amazed I am at the number of conveniences we have available to us. It doesn’t seem all that long ago that the microwave was a new and wondrous invention. The original models were about the size of a small car and came with a certain fear factor as we wondered if we would grow a third eye from the alien appliance. Now it is hard to imagine life without it and they are portable enough to set up almost anywhere. As time has marched on, I have discovered that there are some conveniences that I can’t live without and others that just aren’t worth the time savings to me.

Here are a few conveniences that have fallen off my radar.

1) Boxed potatoes—I’m a potatoholic and I like the real deal. Baked, mashed, fried or hashed, it’s the ultimate comfort food. The boxed taters are okay in a pinch, but I like to keep my peeler at the ready and enjoy a fresh spud when the mood hits.

2) Baby carrots in a bag—For years I used the little orangish torpedoes and convinced myself that they were just fine. That was until a few summers ago when our neighbor brought over a bag of fresh garden carrots and I got a taste of what my brain remembered as a real carrot. Orange, sweet and shaped like a carrot. Despite the time it takes to peel and chop, I haven’t gone back.

3) Minced garlic in little jars—I love cooking with garlic and I would dearly love to dearly love the ready-to-go stuff in a jar. I just don’t like the flavor and I’m always second guessing its shelf life. I still buy cloves of garlic, peel off the sticky paper covering and dice away. The freshness is worth it to me.

Here are a few conveniences that I am hooked on.

1) Shredded cheese—I know that freshly grated cheese is much creamier and doesn’t have that “dairy dust” coating  to keep it from sticking but I just can’t make myself haul out the cheese grater and scrape my knuckles as I try to get the last bit of cheese shredded. Then I am faced with a sticky cheese grater that defies an easy clean up. If I didn’t scrape my knuckles on the first round, I can be sure I’ll seal the deal during the scrubbing.

2) Paper towels—Yes, cloth rags might be more eco-friendly and yes, they carry pathogens around like fleas on a dog. Yuck. I am a messy person and I need the convenience and comfort of a fresh wipe up when my spills occur.

3) Bagged greens—There is nothing easier than a salad in a bag. During the summer I cut, wash and spin my way to fresh garden salads. But, the winter season is another story. Just give me a ready-to-go veggie mix, a little dressing and we’re in business until the frost is out of the garden soil and seeds are planted once again.

The ultimate luxury, however, is indoor plumbing. I have childhood memories of scuttling out toward our outdoor toilet that was nestled in among the lilac bushes. My overactive imagination was always convincing me that I would surely be the kid who would somehow collapse the whole business and find myself in a malodorous soup of trouble. Fortunately, that was never the outcome, but, to this day, I never take for granted the convenience of flushing a toilet.