[SCA-cooks] Tricky question about relatives - sort OT, definitelyOOP

[Laura C. Minnick]

Christina Nevin wrote:

> Maybe it's one of those skipped generation genes, kinda like twins? <grin>
> My mother is a good baker (her Christmas cake is divine) but strictly a
> 'utility' cook - she's OK (as long as she doesn't attempt tripe <shudder of
> remembrance>) but only does it because food is necessary. I've never seen my
> dad bake anything other than souffle, but he's a brilliant cook who very
> much enjoys creating food.

The twins remark got me- my maternal grandfather was a twin- and my
brother and his wife just found our that kid #2 is actually #2 and #3!

Both of my granmothers are/were decent cooks of the 'this bunch needs
fed and it better be good' kind. Grandma Klaassen was a Mennonite farm
wife- good, heavy food, keep ya going. But could she bake!- Uff da! All
her own bread, pastries, cakes, pies, etc, and jams and jellies and
preserves and canning... wonderful stuff. And my idiot uncle SOLD HER
COOKBOOKS at a garage sale when she went to a nursing home. The women in
the family nearly killed him. Now Grandma Remley was raising Baby
Boomers (mom was the oldest) in So Cal- there's an orange tree in teh
front yard with a divot in it where my dad walked into it and broke his
glasses. She cooked plain 'American' food- the sort that shows up in
Good Housekeeping. Comfort food. But she was good at it. And by the time
I was a teenager she was experimenting with recipes from Sunset magazine
and such. One summer I was there she was on a gazpacho kick and we had
gazpacho every day. But she didn't seem to convey to my mother more than
the bare basics. And my folks were always broke, so mom was at a
disadvantage anyway. We ate a LOT of hamburger, etc.

I get more of my cooking from my friends, and from standing in the
produce aisle wondering what looks good today. And from reading _COI_ or
Julia Child curled up in bed while the rain beats on the window. And my
own sense of 'that would be good together... wonder what happens if I
braise it with a little sherry?...' and such.

I am trying to teach my kids to cook, but with them currently at their
dad's, it is not easy. They learn more during tourney season. But my
oldest can took as well as my mom can, and I hope by the time she's on
her own (not too far from now) that she can fend for herself with a
flair.

I think what I would like to pass on to the next generation is a real
enjoyment of cooking- the smells and textures, and to enjoy the food in
more than just the sense of filling the belly, but of making the mouth
sing...

And to pass on the killer brownie recipe! Heh heh heh...

'Lainie