Commercial instant mashed potatoes and instant gravy

Man, these things are good.

The industrialists have brought this science to very high art form. I love these so much I could live on them. I've been eating it everyday, a cup of mashed potatoes and a cup of gravy. Both products are out of this world.

And I would have them everyday. It's like the perfect hospital food except a lot better tasting.

I've come way out of character by accepting these things. I had earlier resolved against them but that was decades ago before they became this spectacular. I can have my favorite things with no trouble at all. In just a few minutes. The time it takes to bring a cup of water to boiling in the microwave.

But then I looked at the ingredients and was horrified.

I'll finish what I have but then they must go. Too bad. For I love them so.

I must stick with the program of using basic ingredients, potato, butter, milk and chicken or beef stock, and eliminate all extraneous chemistry no matter how innocuous each one.

After these packages are used then it's back to ricing a microwaved baked potato, an additional four minutes plus cleaning the ricer, plus bringing out the butter and milk,  and making my own gravy from my own stock, a matter of a small pot and roux that is butter and flour and whatever herbs and spices strike my fancy that moment.

Because these beautiful chemicals and their magical properties are outrageous.

What's that? What's that. Shhh, shhh, shhh, hold on a second ...

What's that?

That's my central nervous system saying, "thank you."

This stuff is fantastic. 

I mean it. 

I must admit, it tastes better than my own gravy. I'll have to learn from their flavor specialists. After all, they paid a fortune for their superior expertise over decades of honing their acutely focused mad flavor perfecting skills. 

Good Lord. Mad scientists. You're all quite insane.

I like salt. But I like the gray colored mineral-y Celtic sea salt best. It has a lot less sodium.

This product is simply amazing. Most impressive. You add a few rounded tablespoons to a cup of boiling water and it goes, stir stir stir soup soup soup soup soup schwing dense mashed potatoes. 

It's magic! Right before your eyes. It's actually fun to make.

I could just cry.

Really?

This is the chemistry it takes to pull off the magic. 

Compare all this to: potato, butter, milk, salt / pepper.

I must revert to my old fashioned ways. Not even my old fashioned ways. Not even my mother's old fashioned ways, rather, I must revert back to my grandmothers' old fashioned ways. Except she didn't have a microwave to speed up cooking a potato and she didn't have a ricer. Her way was boil peeled potatoes that are cubed then smash smash smash with handheld smasher. There were always some lumps. 

I wish I could keep using these products. They sure are fun. But too bad. Too many chemicals so they're both right out.