Measuring Up

Once upon a time in one of my first attempts at cooking I used chili powder in my spaghetti sauce. I was probably 15 or 16 years old and trying to help my mom by cooking supper before she got home from work.  I don't know why I thought spaghetti would need chili powder.  When I realized I had botched the job it was too late to start over and of course the family had to eat it.  Needless to say, it was not good and I did not get compliments on my cooking.  But what's important is I did make an attempt.  You have to start somewhere.

I enjoy cooking now, but I haven't always.  In the early years of our marriage, when we were both working and trying to raising our family I didn't enjoy cooking.  What I mean is I didn't hate it, but it was not something I took joy in doing.  It was hard getting something quick and good on the table in a reasonable amount of time.  I was learning to cook long before Rachel Ray's 30 Minute Meal cookbooks.  I made a lot of hamburger casseroles.  Harland and JoCasta loved them.  So I relied on them a lot.  I could pair the casserole with a salad and had a pretty good meal on the table.  Trouble is, while there are tons of casserole recipes there are only so many times during the week you can get away with serving it up.  Chili burger casserole, burger pasta casserole, chicken casserole, you get the idea.

It wasn't I was afraid to try other recipes, the problem was time.  Then if it doesn't turn out well... well what do you do then.  But as time went on and a lot of calls to Harland's mom and my mom, I eventually practiced several dishes enough that I started gaining some confidence and receiving a few compliments on my cooking.

It was always a problem when asking for assistance from my mom and Harland's mom too.  Not because they didn't want to help, but because if I wanted to know how much milk to use when making biscuits, they could not give exact measurements.  That is not something you can tell someone.  You have to show them.  But I was in Alabama and they were in North Carolina.  So I had to learn by trial and error and never became the kind of cook to make sure I accurately measured everything.  Maybe I did the first time I would try a recipe, but then I would just wing it.  That's the way I learned it from them.

Then there is a matter of different regional cooking style.  My family is from Indiana.  Meat and potoates and bread for every meal.  If you had beans it was Navy or Great Northern beans.  Harland's mom, was a good old southern style cook.  Pinto beans, fried chicken, gravy and biscuits.  If you wanted to learn how to make chicken and dumpling from my mom, that meant you had homemade egg noodles.  I still don't know how to make them.  Harland's mom made chicken and dumplings southern style.  That means drop dumplings.  I learned to make drop dumplings because that is what Harland was raised with and his preference.  But I still want to learn how to make homemade egg noodles.

Harland and I often talk about the first time we went to the grocery store after moving into our first apartment.  On the way home he asked what were we having for supper. I said beans, fried potatoes and cornbread.  He said, what else, I said well I can heat up another vegetable. He said so what else, I said what else do you want?  He said where is the meat?  I said the beans are your protein.  And he said, bleep, if I wanted protein, I would just eat peanut butter.  But, now pintos, potatoes and cornbread are one of his favorite meals (and without additional protein).

                         Zucchini Patties-Recipe Below

All of my girls will tell you they are not accomplished in the kitchen.  But, as time goes on they are venturing out and trying new things.  Occasionally they will ask my advise about a meal that they enjoyed while they were still living at home.  Cooking, no matter what style you chose just takes time and practice.  Once you realize that everyone has had a recipe not turn out well, you don't feel so bad when yours doesn't either.  The important thing to remember is at least you tried. Eventually, the act of cooking has become something I enjoy doing. I don't know exactly when that happened!

Harland and I thought it was important we share at least one meal together every day with our kids.  We still do eat together every evening.  The kitchen table was where we gathered while we shared the details of our day.  I hope these are the things my children look back and remember and I hope it will be an important part of raising their families too.