by David Dicesare

Created on: July 31, 2008

I am a simple man who lives to eat and not eats to live, therefore I gladly suffer through the cooking and cleaning process at home to get the most flavor and best taste for my meals. Yes I have ventured out to the fast food markets for a quick bite on the road only to ask myself after eating, "why" !

Why did I subject my tastebuds to this ill prepared, foul tasting, expensive thing that these company's pass off to us consumers as norishment. Well the answer to this is conveinence, I was hungry and far from home and needed to fuel my money maker. This the only reason I ever have to stop at one of our fast food dens of palatable inequties. I went on a McDonalds strike in the early eighties when the company announced that the were scaling back the meat they put in their burgers by thirty percent, I figured if they were shortening up the beef they should also shorten up the price as well. They didn't, so I went on a strike, I don't think my martydom had a big affect on their bottom line but it made me fell good.

Aside from the taste and lack of meat issues, to me there is nothing like coming home to the smell of a home cooked meal. Of all the senses we have, the sense of smell does more to make a meal than the actual meal itself. The aroma of a home cooked meal brings back those childhood memories of Mom with her apron on, bustling between the sink and the stove, my brothers and I fighting over who got the last meatball and a comfort zone, a warm fuzzy feeling way down inside of you, brerath in breath out and chow down. The olfactory sensation from a home cooked meal can stop wars from ever happening, I can't imagine anyone being mad at anyone else after a plate of Ziti's from Mom's kitchen.

Because of my little old Italian mother's love and skills and her culinary masterpieces, I have an innate talent of my own around the stove, and nothing pleases me more than feeding someone and having them eat with a gusto of a starved man. When you cook for someone you give them a gift of love that cannot be taken back, exchanged or hid away in the closet to gather dust. It's a gift from your heart to theirs, it's never to big or to small, it's always just right.

Fast foods for the most part are served hot, but have a cold callousness about them, totally insensitive to your taste buds and they never look like the pictures on the wall. Why is that? Is there a severe lack of training back at HQ, or is it the mundane way of life working at a fast food restaurant. Sure they satisfy the hunger pangs, but has anyone ever walked away from a fast food establishment and said "Wow, that was the best meal I ever had!" No, and chances are the headed for the nearest drug store for an antacid.

Now don't get me wrong, I have had some heart burn after a good home cooked meal and went right to the medicine cabinet for a tums, but ask me if it was worth it? Yes indeed ! Every last bite and I'd do it again if I could!

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