Hi PlainPat - thanks for the post. It has certainly filled in some of the gaps in my knowledge! My eldest daughter lives in PA but still cooks in the way I taught her - she regularly sends home an email with a list of ingredients she cannot find locally. Lots of my friends who now live Stateside find difficulty in obtaining various ingredients they are used to using, and don't seem to be able to find good alternatives.
From visits, watching USA TV cooking programmes, looking at recipe books produced for the USA market, and from regular contact with friends and family who live Stateside, I think your point about working mothers is a very good one. The convenience factor is obviously very important, and men and women who "cook from scratch" appear to be very few and far between. Having said that, it is only recently that I have given up full time work, for a life of comparative leisure (foster caring for a sibling group of three children under five). Raising four children, working full time and with limited finances means you become very resourceful with food. I have always had an allotment - a small piece of land reserved for city dwellers to grow their own food - and have used my freezer extensively for bulk and batch cooking. I use local farmers markets, farm shops and butchers to buy in bulk where I can, and I plan meals and shopping.
I guess I am a bit obsessive (I think in a good way, but maybe others will have another perspective!), but it works for me. I am just interested in how feeding a family works for others: I am always really interested to see how I can use other peoples' techniques to make my system work better.
By the way - where is the Buckeye State? Now I am REALLY showing my ignorance!!!
Last edited by bigbrownowl; 11-12-2011 at 11:40 AM.