It's the week before Thanksgiving, which means it's time for a little bit of gratitude.
I am grateful that I know how to cook (and to anyone about to leave a comment with the words rice pie in it, here's what I have to say: hush up your mouth). I'm grateful that I grew up in a home with a mother who cooks (very, very well) and that she taught me how to cook and was indulgent of my cooking experiments.
My personal favorite childhood cooking experiment was my little foray into cooked carrots, prepared in the following manner: locate one recycled whipped cream container, fill with hot water, add chopped carrots, carry downstairs to mostly unused small bathroom, fill sink with hot water, set whipped cream container in sink, leave carrots to soak for 4-5 hours. I anticipated that this would create cooked carrots similar to the ones my mom made by cooking carrots on the stovetop. Here's what it actually creates: wet, lukewarmish, crunchy carrots. My mom set them out on the dinner table for us to eat anyway.
When I was about 4, I had a favorite recipe called White M&Ms, prepared thus: take a plastic egg tray, fill all the indentations with water, set M&Ms in each indentation, leave until the M&Ms turn white but be sure to remove before they start to dissolve. I believe this delicacy was also generally prepared in a bathroom.
When I was in college, I cooked with uneven amounts of success. There were a number of very unfortunate meals, including an end of semester casserole that I used to make with rice, canned soup, green beans, and cheese. When I think about it now, it makes me feel a little queasy, and I'm glad my skills have improved, but I'm grateful that I've always been able to experiment and put meals together for myself that have saved me money and kept me entertained.
I like to cook. I like creating something; it's soothing. I like to cook for other people and to have dinner parties and to be able to offer pie or bread or something from my own kitchen to friends. I like to know what's in my food and to make things that are fresh and healthy. I like to try new foods and cook desserts that are so bad for you that your arteries will clog just looking at them.
I'm grateful I can cook.
4 comments:
My kids bake similar delicacies, but they take them down to the basement to stew. And I don't find them until a few days later.
I'm thankful for all of the cooking you've done for me, especially the lovely curries and cool cakes. (I even liked the weird pie.)
And then there were the blondies in the microwave . . . ;) I love your carrot story. It makes my heart warm! We would bury stuff outside to make our own root cellars as kids. I'm not certain I ever ventured into bathroom sink cooking, however.
I too made some pretty cool concoctions. My go to ingredients: ranch dressing and cheerios, although perhaps not together. Oh and I would make frosting using every flavor of extract known to man and dye it an appropriate color using food coloring.
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