I made a resolution to cook dinner more this year and order takeout less. It’s not going great so far, as we just ordered Mexican.

The thing is, there are various vectors on the cook-vs.-takeout scale. Cooking is cheaper — unless you’re making a very complicated recipe that requires lots of ingredients, in which case it might be more expensive. Cooking is healthier — except that for dinner tonight I’ve ordered a vegetarian burrito with brown rice and a side salad, a meal that will contain more vegetables than what I might have cooked. Cooking is more enjoyable — sometimes. I like cooking, but only when I’m actually doing it — caught up in the slicing and the doing. If I think about getting ready to cook, including going to buy the ingredients I don’t have, it’s a pain in the ass.

I guess I have to decide why I want to cook more: because it’s healthier (sometimes). Because it’s cheaper (sometimes). Because I like the process of cooking (sometimes). Because I want to know what goes in my food (always).

Ah well — at least I cooked on Saturday night. Resolutions can be gradual!