You Call That a Recipe?

Lately, I've been watching some Taiwanese shows. There is an entertainer that's known for his abrasive personality and colorful language. Before he started in show biz, he worked in restaurant kitchens for a number of years. He recently published a book about good eats for singles, which included some simple recipes. One show even did an episode on his book. It turns out that most of his recipes use just ramen noodles, hot dogs, soup packets, canned tuna, or onigiri. Other than mayonnaise, he didn't even use any seasoning (at least in the 5 recipes they demonstrated on the show). Can these even be called recipes? True, they are quick and easy. But there is no REAL cooking involved, and most of them are so unhealthy, they really shouldn't be anything but the last resort. As someone who loves to cook and eat, I find that almost insulting. During the show, a Le Cordon Bleu trained special guest compared the concept behind these "recipes" to Semi-Homemade Cooking. Well, these are both about quick and easy meals, but the similarity ends there. It’s drastically different to make a hot dog or ramen than to make a meal from appetizer to dessert. I guess as an ex-foodnetwork-devoted-viewer, I got a little worked up by the comment.