Thursday this and that . . .

 

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 I have always loved to cook. No surprise there. I've been cooking since I was in my early teens. Our mother went back to work when I was 11 years old.  For a short time we had live in baby-sitters that got our meals for us, but that didn't last long.  By the time I was 13, I was it. Taking care of my younger sister and brother after school until our parents got home and all day on the days there was no school and getting supper on the go most days.  At first it was just reheating things that our mother had prepared ahead of time, but once I became more confident then I was allowed to branch out a bit. Nothing was ever very complicated. Mom had a very strict grocery budget so everything would have had to fit within the confines of that. There was no variance. I do remember one time making creamed vegetables using something I had learned in Home Ec at School and getting in trouble for doing so. Creamed mixed vegetables in toast cups. 

They were not very good either, lol  Mom was most annoyed at me having wasted the ingredients on something that wasn't very edible. One thing she did like that I made from time to time however was Tomato Baked Haddock.  A block of frozen fish, a can of tomatoes, some diced green peppers, oregano, (her much beloved herb) onion, salt and pepper. Nothing really inventive.

Sometimes she would let my sister and I bake. That was always fun. Once again, it was nothing really inventive. Just simple things like hot milk cake or simple cookies. To be honest, mom really didn't like people messing up the kitchen. She was very fastidious and didn't like anything splattered on the stove, etc.

Food was very simple. You knew pretty much what was for supper by what day of the week it was. There was a routine to all of it and a firm plan in place.

 

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I learned a lot about cooking from my first mother-in-law. She was a farm wife and was used to making hearty meals, three times a day.  Her food was simple also, but the flavor of it was wow.  She could make a potato sing like nobody else could.  She wasn't afraid to use herbs and spices and grew a lot of her own herbs in her kitchen garden. I loved her fried potatoes.  She fried them in salt pork scraps and the flavor was amazing. 

She had to be a good cook to keep her hard working family and the farm hands happy. She also loved preserving food so I learned a lot from her about that. Mom made strawberry freezer jam every year and she would make and freeze blueberry pies (dad's favorites). But I don't really recall her making a lot of jams or pickles. I got my love of doing so from my first mother-in-law.

I worked in a professional kitchen for a time, with absolutely no experience, but I was eager and willing to learn and I did. Learn. I learned a lot. Thinking back that was really brave of me.

 

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I would not say I was a great cook at the beginning. I did cook a lot of rubber chicken, but I always loved watching cooking shows. Galloping Gourmet. Madame Benoit.  Yan Can Cook. And then all the cooking shows on PBS at the weekend like Julia Child. I did a lot of reading as well and studying methods, etc. I learned to become quite a capable cook through time once I married and had a family of my own.  Time and practice and I was adventurous. I loved food and I loved recipes and I loved cooking.  

I also loved eating, but that's a whole different story.

My second mother-in-law was a great cook also.  Simple food, once again, but she loved to eat and so what she did cook was from scratch and delicious. She made the best Swiss steak using, steak, onions and tomato soup.  Her baked beans were also really good. Again, using tomato soup, onions, and butter.  They were different than our moms. Both versions were delicious.  (Mom used the recipe from the package of beans and a bean crock.) My mother-in-law made things like fried rice and beef croquettes, corn bread.  She never bought store bought bread. Her gingersnaps were legendary. My father-in-law had been an army cook as well, so there was some good tasting food in that house.

It was all a journey. Every woman who came into my life, be it friend or relation, left an indelible mark on my culinary journey. I learned from them all.  My sister was much the same, and we taught and shared with each other as well. We both became really great and capable cooks through the years.

 

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Getting to go to Culinary School in my early 40's was like a dream come true for me. I loved every minute of it. I didn't really learn much that was new, but I really got to hone many skills that I had already developed through the years and perfect them. I got to stretch my wings and really fly. And I have never looked back. Working at the Manor also stretched me. Getting to work with the finest ingredients, with the best tools, in the most beautiful environment. It was a great experience. 

I can cook "high-class" food and I can cook "field-hand" food and I can do both very well. I also enjoy doing both. But I do prefer "field-hand" food. Because, I can be rather lazy it seems and I think a lot of "high-class" food is highly overrated and pretentious.

I love franks and beans. And cornbread. 

And I haven't really told you anything new here this morning, or that I haven't already said through the years so I hope you will forgive me for that. I have just been practicing sitting at the computer to see how long I can tolerate it. Short bursts. That's about it. And I stubbed my toe going to the bathroom in the middle of the night so add that ache and pain to the list. Along with my sore Covid shot/ muscle injured from the fall arm. I am just batting a thousand here! lol

I have to take Eileen to the hospital for blood tests a bit later this morning. I am just going to park outside the doors and hope it goes quickly. I won't be going in with her.  She says she knows how to do it.

Then I do need to nip into a grocery store to get some cat food. Just one particular kind that I didn't get enough of last week.

I am hoping my tax guy brings my papers back today and has filed them. Will it be good news or bad?  Whatever it is I will deal with it.

And so  . . . 

I baked Eileen a Pineapple Upside Down Cake yesterday. She was so pleased to see it when she got home from her CSS visits. She has been wanting me to bake her one for weeks now. I used a vintage recipe from an old cookbook. We were both really pleased with how it came out.

I am at the edge of my endurance now so need to get up. Have a great day everyone.  Don't forget!

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And I do too!