I've got friends who work in the fast food and packaged-foods industries. It may be fashionable to run them down, but food scientists and chefs in both industries work double time to find the right balance of tasty, nutritious food and reasonable price. Of course, there's a lot of salt involved, because salt tastes good, but all in all there are some pretty reasonable eats that one can find for $2.00 per meal.

I still think one would be better off cooking a meal or two, for oneself and perhaps some loved ones (or a crack whore who could use a meal), but let's not overlook the miracles here. Alex Panzer's very existence has been brought to us by the genius of Norman Borlaug and Clarence Birdseye. All hail science.

The kitchen looks nice, Alex. Got any more pictures of the kitchen?