In the Kitchen
What I am about to say may be considered heresy since we are a microwave society, but here it goes…I love to cook.
Have loved it since I was a child. Growing up, my parents worked, so it was either to starve or take over making meals…which is what I did, out of survival…at first. Note that this was before microwave ovens and air fryers. Our mother was never excited about cooking. When she got home, she was tired and still had to deal with a husband, five children, and a household. We used to joke that we always had leftovers. She would cook food for the upcoming week on Sunday afternoon and put it in her famous Tupperware containers to be heated on the stove or oven during the week.
On the other hand, our paternal grandmother (Bushi) was an awesome Polish cook. She made everything from scratch, and her food was delicious. The kitchen was her domain, and she would not share it with anyone. Fast forward to today. As I said, I love to cook and make meals from scratch. I love my microwave, Instant Pot, Air Fryer, and assorted cast iron frying pans. And, like Bushi, my kitchen is my kingdom, and it is my calm and happy place.
My husband's daughter never learned to cook. They stopped teaching home econ eons ago, and her mother wasn't really into cooking beyond the basics. She and my granddaughters love to eat my cooking, and so does my husband. Last year, one of my granddaughters came to stay with us on our farm for a week. As much as my kitchen is my kingdom, I decided it was time for my granddaughter to learn how to cook.
We started with the fun food, mac & cheese and spaghetti, both from scratch. She was a willing participant. Encouraged by her enthusiasm, I showed her how to cook farm-fresh eggs in a cast iron frying pan. I taught her little cooking tricks like breaking fresh eggs in a bowl before using them to ensure that they are fresh (and don't have a chicken embryo in them, but that's another story).
Who would have thought that something so simple as shredding cheese from brick instead of using pre-shredded cheese for mac & cheese would be a hit? I explained that the pre-shredded cheese has a coating that helps keep it from clumping but doesn't make it melt as nicely as fresh cheese. Other “secrets” shared were when sautéing ground beef, don’t dump the excess fat down the drain (or garbage grinder) since the grease clogs the pipes and septic. I showed her that making gravy from scratch was neither complicated nor magic.
We rounded out her week by having her make a cheesecake from scratch. She learned to use a springform pan, line it with parchment paper, and use a mixer. We also made blueberry smoothies in my blender from the blueberries she picked from the garden. Both were new and exciting experiences for her.
She loved her week with us, but I did not realize how much for about a year. She kept asking to come back, but the timing was never good. Then, I got a text from my husband's daughter with a picture of a fabulous meal of ginger sesame salmon that my granddaughter had made for her family. The presentation was not just food on a plate. She sprinkled cut fresh parsley over the top and a squeeze of lime. I was floored. My granddaughter got the cooking spark from me and is now moving on to be quite an accomplished young woman chef at 13.
We never know what we do that will profoundly impact our grandchildren.
Do you love to cook? Have you passed your skills on to your grandchildren? Today we are inundated with prepared foods, convenience foods. These are nice and serve a purpose at times. But to be able to make something from scratch is soul-satisfying. Something we need to pass along to future generations.
Let us know what you are doing with your grandchildren, boys, and girls, on how to cook. My aunt had 8 boys and taught them to cook, do laundry, and do housekeeping. She said she wanted her boys to be self-sufficient. Can't argue with that. We need our children and grandchildren to be self-sufficient.
