cooks

I come from a long line of good cooks.

My grandma was “matron” at a boarding high school for 25 years or so. Some of her student workers tell me that grandma could make a meal out of nothing. She had to, it was the depression and there wasn’t any food, or money to buy food.

Mom was a good cook. When we were young, especially, the diet was pretty thin, but it was good. We had home made bread and home canned fruits and vegetables. It wasn’t fancy, but we ate well.

Miriam’s mom was a pretty good cook, though not close to my mom or grandma. She was always sure that if she turned the burner on high the food would cook faster, but she often didn’t remember on time. Once, Miriam’s dad grinned at me and said: “Marie burns more food than I can eat.”

But Miriam exceeded all of them.

Not only was her food nutritious, it was color coordinated and the set table was a thing of beauty. My mom wanted to photograph the table before we began eating: “Miriam’s table always looks so good,” mom gushed.

So, now that Miriam has Alz as a roommate (this is in addition to her me), her skills have taken a dive, and I am pressed into service.

My step dad's mother had owned a small bakery when he was at home. The Army, contrary to their normal procedures sent him to cooks and bakers school.

Our daughters are all very good with food. Their families eat well. Some verge on being top gourmet cooks, some are nuts and bolts healthy cooks.

Then there is their father -- me.

I am a willing volunteer in this thing, but for the last 51 years I wasn't really allowed in the kitchen.

I was always allowed to make bread and I pretty well have that figured out.

The big thing about day to day cooking is making it healthy and pleasant and within the budget.

To make it even wilder, we are dedicated vegetarians, but since we have always been, we don’t really know what we are missing.

I am learning to lean on my daughters. I look at the cook books a bit, we have a pickup load of them, and I check on line for details I can’t remember. But, mostly I experiment and think.

Luckily I do not need a huge variety of foods to make me happy. I can eat peanut butter sandwiches every day the rest of my life and be happy, so I can repeat a meal more often than those with more adventurous habits.

And, I have a superb salad chef. She makes the salads, she insists that every main meal have one. And the same chef is good at cleanup, though I have a feeling she will not be able to continue that skill one day.

Now, that is a deal. I cook, she cleans.

Where was that service when I had a commercial cabinet shop?