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January 31, 2005
Well, I planned to follow
Well, I planned to follow the serious and potentially controversial discussion of Fleming with a much more enjoyable discussion of Christopher Kimball's The Kitchen Detective: A Culinary Sleuth Solves Common Cooking Mysteries--and I'm still going to do that. But now I've also read the despair-inducing The Two-Income Trap: Why Middle-Class Mothers and Fathers are Going Broke, so so much for sweetness and light.
- First the good news: Christopher Kimball, as some of you may know, is the editor of the august Cook's Illustrated, which in charming, ad-free format documents detailed taste testings, equipment evaluations, and painstakingly perfected recipes. He is also the author of the syndicated column, The Kitchen Detective. If you find Cook's Illustrated a little too fair, a little too respectable, you'll like Kitchen Detective, which features the same obsessive tweaking but with a decidedly personal touch--Kimball will tell you why he prefers one outcome to another, even when that preference is idiosyncratic, and the book is peppered throughout with various jeremiads against the death of home cooking in America (a favorite genre of mine, as it happens). The gist behind the book is that Kimball deconstructs classic recipes, testing old wive's tales, streamlining where possible, omitting useless or tasteless steps. I was greatly cheered, for instance, by the official confirmation that you don't have to scald the milk before making a roux. I've never bothered, mind you, but I've always wondered if I were missing something crucial. Apparently not. Another reason to like this book is that while Kimball may be obsessive, he's never fussy, and some of his recipes begin with "I started with X's recipe, but didn't think that the effort of ______ was worth it, so I cut that step." As someone who once thought she could make a living cutting superfluous steps from Martha Stewart recipes (until Everyday Food came along and did it for me), I applaud such moves. I haven't yet decided if The Kitchen Detective is a keeper--if I'm not sufficiently picky about the cookbooks I purchase they will force me onto the streets--but I will be cooking parsnips tonight following his "Ten-Minute Root Vegetables" recipe featured on the Splendid Table. [Bonus found while looking up links: an interview with Kimball].
- And now for something completely different. The thesis of The Two-Income Trap is that we err in thinking that the rise in bankruptcies is the result of profligate spending on the part of the middle class. Rather, it happens because so many families are forced to devote the greater part of two incomes to recurring expenditures seen as necessities, including, primarily, mortgage payments and the cost of a second car. Why not just buy a cheaper house? Because, the authors argue, there's an ongoing "bidding war" whereby the cost of living in a good school district goes ever upward. Middle-class parents who want their children to have a solid academic future find themselves unable to pay for basic living costs without two incomes--but that puts them at incredible risk should one parent lose a job (also an increasing trend). When moms stayed at home, the argument goes, the family had a safety net--if the father lost his job, the wife could always get additional work. But, the authors caution, it would be foolish to argue that we need to go back to a one-income way of life--or even that we could. Instead they propose a host of suggestions (from equal access to good schools regardless of zip code to re-regulating the credit industry), most of which involve radical changes in the government. Hence the depressing aspect of this book; I fear many of their solutions will never be realized, and meanwhile, middle-class families (especially, they point out, those headed by single moms) will continue on in their painfully vulnerable state. There are a few things one might be able to do on a personal level. The authors recommend being extremely careful not to get a mortgage that requires both incomes. Insurance, including disability insurance and long-term care insurance (the latter for one's parents as well as oneself) is also encouraged. There's an implicit message to put up with a whole heck of a lot before you get a divorce. I think the bottom line is that two-income families should attempt, as much as possible, to treat the second income as discretionary spending. But of course, that's impossible for any number of families. Thus the "trap" of the title, thus the depressive effect of reading the book.
Posted by Miki at January 31, 2005 01:32 PM