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A few years ago I was hired to be a Project Manager on a vineyard in St. Helena, California. It was a job that required me to live on the property. The whole ten acres, and the view as far as the eye could see, could well have been in Tuscany, Italy. Although I was hired to oversee a renovation project, it was beautiful just the way it was.

My living quarters were located above a three car garage. The apartment had been used briefly as an office, and there were no appliances in it. I was made aware it would be awhile before they could be installed. I moved in thinking I could get my daily groceries at the local deli or supermarket. My dear friend Madeleine thought otherwise.

Madeleine came to visit me just after I moved in. When she came upstairs, she was horrified by the lack of any kitchen appliance. She saw my lack of a stove as an issue. When I shared my easy does it diet attitude with her, she was not amused. It further infuriated her that I didn't have a refrigerator. To Madeleine, the proverbial glass was totally empty. and she felt compelled to resolve what she viewed as a deadly flaw in my thinking.

"You can't live like a savage", she howled, her eyes wide open with one eyebrow lifted to punctuate her horror. "You have no fire, and no ice, it's like living in the Old Testament, or with cave people"!

When she confronted me, I took a step backward and firmly planted my new sheepskin slippers on the pink tile floor. With sincere neutrality, I stood my ground. For me it was a temporary hunt and gather challenge, and no big deal.

"You think you can catch a whim and reel it in by driving to the store in the middle of the night? I think not". It was a moot point. I was there to stay. The hotplate arrived a few days later. It was a thoughtful gift. However, I was still determined to survive by store bought food.

I thought the deli idea would work well. However, there was only one fast food franchise in town. Much to the good, the local government preferred the town to remain less commercial and more historic. However, due to the fact St. Helena was a wine country destination town, there were some great restaurants in the area. In fact, more than a few were world class . They certainly could not ever be the source of three meals a day though, as their menu was prepared by chefs with tall white hats whose names people whispered over dessert.

As it turned out, the hotplate was a singularly marvelous gift. I would be able to cook a meal, albeit one course at a time.

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