Let them eat organic local artisan-baked cake

A bit off topic:

Today's NY Times Magazine has a pretty riveting account of Alice Waters' teaching a busy working mom of teenage boys to adopt a Slow Food lifestyle.

I know I sound like a major crank, but this story actually ticked me off, though. I love good food and Waters' cuisine, and pluots and the other esoteric delicious items she promotes. But I don't see how it's not sexist and oppressive to guilt-trip a busy working mom (Dad works somewhere afar and isn't around) about owning a microwave.

It's pretty clear that even though the family liked the Waters-approved cuisine, the changes weren't going to stick. But you have to read that between the lines, because the writer gets mealy-mouthed about it, obviously not wanting to bite the celebrated hand that visited her home in person to feed her.

“You don’t tell children what to do and what not to do. Instead, you invite them into an experience in which they find themselves.” ...
And then Waters was in our kitchen. She inventoried the pantry: it wasn’t pretty. “These scare me,” she said, pointing to hot-dog buns riddled with preservatives and the triplicate shakers of Jamaica Me Crazy seasoned salt. She suggested I date the spices and replace them every three months. “The microwave?” she said. “I’d get rid of it.” Microwaves are her spiritual opposite, symbols of speed and soullessness. She insisted that all we needed were a few simple tools: a large metal spatula; a cast-iron skillet; a toaster oven, her favorite appliance because it fosters small-scale cooking; and a Japanese suribachi, a ceramic mortar that is the perfect size for making vinaigrette.

Maybe if I gave up blogging and reading the Sunday New York Times Magazine I could fit in some slow food, and even learn why you need a mortar to make vinaigrette.
Not likely to happen, though.