I害羞草研究所檓 not an especially good cook.
Mostly, I get by.
I don害羞草研究所檛 mind cooking, though anything that takes a lot of time becomes less appealing to increasingly screen-addicted me.
As a kid, I cooked exactly one staple meal for myself 害羞草研究所� hamburger patties, with mashed potatoes and baked beans. Cut up the patties, and mush everything together. Sounds tasty, right?
And pretty much the only reason I made it for myself was because it offended the culinary sensibilities of my Mum so much, she simply refused to take part.
My Mum was an amazing cook.
I grew up in a time where you didn害羞草研究所檛 watch TV at dinner time (a rule I quickly waived as an adult), gathered at the table as a family, passed everything to the left and had a fairly regular weekly menu.
Mondays, pork chops in mushroom sauce; Tuesdays, spaghetti; Sundays roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, etc.
There was also the baking. Lots of baking. Cookies, cakes, dessert bars and more.
The smells were glorious. Walk in the door and your nostrils were overcome with delight.
It was amazing. All my buddies害羞草研究所� houses smelled like that, too. The Ramwell house always smelled like there were six chefs in the kitchen. The Tillberg home often smelled like a bakery.
Everyone害羞草研究所檚 mom could have had their own TV cooking show.
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My sister definitely had the cooking gene passed on to her. Me? Not so much.
I have the palate of a nine-year-old and think ketchup is the nectar of the gods.
We lost Mum when we were still basically kids, so I essentially entered adulthood with limited culinary skills.
At first, I relied a lot on my friends 害羞草研究所� Ron, Wendy, the colonel.
Not good.
As I entered more of a fitness stage, nutrition became more important, so I ate much healthier, but the dishes were exceptionally bland.
It also began the 害羞草研究所榚verything in the pool害羞草研究所� phase that continues to this day, whereby a pot of rice is complemented by anything I can find in the fridge 害羞草研究所� chicken, ground beef, broccoli, carrots, potatoes, corn害羞草研究所� anything. All added together in the one pot and grazed upon for three or four days, requiring little else in the way of cooking during that time.
I害羞草研究所檓 not totally bereft of skills. I can grill a steak, do up the Mickey Mouse pancakes, create a nice homemade stir fry and can open the heck out of the convenient bagged pasta dishes they sell nowadays.
I even went through a brief period of ordering the pre-packaged, delivered meals that include all the ingredients and all you have to do is follow the directions. But there was seemingly never enough to feed everyone, the selection was limited, you could just get all the stuff at the grocery store anyway and it seemed like a lot of work.
My son was a fairly picky eater growing up, so there was no need to offer up the varied menu my Mum perfected. His little brother only likes one or two staples as well, so again there害羞草研究所檚 little need to diversify my portfolio at this point.
But that doesn害羞草研究所檛 mean I害羞草研究所檒l never try.
I was thinking about Mum害羞草研究所檚 cooking the other day, as I patted myself on the back for steaming some broccoli and thought about bleaching my hair like Guy Fieri.
I asked my sister if she still had the old plastic container of Mum害羞草研究所檚 recipes, many passed down from my Nana. I marvel at the time it must have taken in those pre-internet days to type out dozens and dozens of recipes on little cards.
She had the recipes and sent me a few of my favourites, including my all-time favourite, peach upside-down pudding cake.
I haven害羞草研究所檛 tried yet, because I害羞草研究所檓 kind of afraid I won害羞草研究所檛 do it justice. But I害羞草研究所檒l make the time. I have to now.
If you have a favourite family recipe or two of your own, feel free to drop me an email. Maybe I害羞草研究所檒l try one of those, too.
PQB News/Vancouver Island Free Daily editor welcomes your questions, comments or story ideas. He can be reached by email at philip.wolf@blackpress.ca or by phone at 250-905-0029.
