I ordered an answer.
This week’s experiment began as a FOMO. I couldn’t seem to avoid advertisements for food delivery services … on Facebook, Instagram, radio, and TV. Beautiful little packages of fresh ingredients delivered to the door! Instantly transformed into dinner and served by a smiling woman with no kitchen to clean.
I wanted to be that woman.
More accurately, I wanted to know what that woman knew that I didn’t.
The question of what to cook for dinner has been following me around for years. Lynne Rossetto Kasper, host of NPR’s award-winning show, The Splendid Table, once said, “There are two kinds of people in this world—those who wake up thinking about what to have for supper and people who don’t.” I belong to the first category.
I love to cook, and I love to think about food and cooking. I’m drafting a Sunday Dinners Cookbook for heaven’s sake! But lately, I’ve just been overwhelmed with food fatigue. I was no longer enjoying the planning, shopping, and cooking. I think I’m just tired of deciding, so I paid someone else to decide and ordered three dinners and two lunches.
The box arrived, and I have to admit it was fun.
Everything was premeasured and chopped. There was no thinking necessary, which was the allure in the first place. I followed the directions. It was fast and easy. It looked good. It tasted good.
I thought I might be a genius. Then Bill asked, “Where’s the dinner?” I knew immediately that it wasn’t going to work. I’m sure I’ve told you about my husband’s tendency to order two entire meals for himself when we go out to dinner. He likes to say, “I eat more than the average bear.” And he does. No sooner had I put dinner on the table than he was standing in front of the refrigerator searching for something to eat.
Here’s another thing about meal delivery … NO leftovers. I have an almost irrational commitment to leftovers. Not only will I eat the same thing for days rather than throw food away, but I also often break the rules, too. Apparently, leftovers are supposed to be thrown out after 3-4 days. I have more of a 7-day rule. And then I’ll feed anything that’s left to the dog!
My lunches are usually leftovers, or salads created from leftovers. My experiment may have required less decision-making, but it created new problems. And I realized something else …
I missed cooking.
Not Tuesday-night-after-the-board-meeting cooking. I missed the other kind. The put-on-music, pour-a-glass-of-wine, try-a-new-recipe kind. The kind where I’m cooking because I want to, not because three people are standing in the kitchen asking when we’re going to eat.
I also realize that there may be a flaw in my logic. At the same time that I’m experimenting with having dinner delivered to my front door, I’m dreaming about writing an entire book called Sunday Dinners.
Therefore, my brief experiment in meal delivery is probably over. I’m going back to cooking. This Sunday, I’ll be in the kitchen, with music playing and a glass of wine by my side. I’ll choose the recipe. I’ll buy too many ingredients. I’ll dirty more pans than necessary. Maybe what I truly want is to make dinner matter again.
The way I did it. What’s for dinner.
This is part of what I’m calling Expeditionvision—my quest to find what a meaningful life looks like. One experiment per week: Possible strategies for a happier life. Trying things on purpose and paying attention to what happens. I’m not offering advice or giving instructions. I’m just sharing the way I did it. If there’s something that you’ve been wanting to try—but haven’t—I’d love to hear about it. I’m open to reader suggestions for future experiments.
Field Notes: For Paid Subscribers
Paid subscribers, I’ve added a short field notes section below with what surprised me the most, what I didn’t expect, what I might do next time, plus things I’m still working on.