First, a warning. Don't read this blog post right now if you're feeling hungry.
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| Last Piece of Salmon (Caught by Rob) |
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| Chicken Stuffed with Cheese & Sun-dried Tomato |
Cooking and Me
I have always enjoyed cooking. It all started with baking. Somewhere in the family photo album, there's a picture of me around age 6 or 7 proudly displaying a cake I'd made in my Easy Bake Oven, a toy oven that was popular in the 1960's. My mom baked a lot, and she taught me to make cookies, cakes, and squares from scratch long before I took my one and only home economics class in Grade eight.
I helped with the cooking as a teenager, When I moved into my first apartment at age 20 after enduring three years of horrible university residence food, I embraced cooking and home meal planning with zest. I took a natural foods cooking course. "Natural foods" is what we called vegetarian cooking back in the 1970's, and the emphasis was on organic unrefined whole foods. I joined a food coop. I learned to make granola and bread. I went on to learn to preserve foods, and made a lot of jam, jelly, pickles, and canned fruit over the years.
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| Mom's Pie Crust Recipe in her Handwriting |
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| My Cookbooks |
I've collected a bookshelf full of cookbooks. As well, I have two thick folders of recipes that I've clipped out of newspapers, been given by friends, copied out by hand from somewhere, or developed myself and written down.
Most of the time these days, I invent meals as I cook them, without following a recipe. When I do use a recipe, I usually refer to one of my old standbys. Or, I look up recipes on the Internet and adapt them.
This past year, I lost enthusiasm for cooking. I don't know why, but I became bored with it. Except for a brief
flurry of cooking around Christmas, when my son and two of my brothers came to stay with us for a few days, and when I volunteered to plan a community Christmas dinner for 60 people and cook it with the help of my service club, our meals became rather ho-hum.
The pandemic changed all that. Over the past six weeks I have been cooking and creating all manner of things in the kitchen. The photos above of the baked salmon and of the stuffed chicken breasts are two examples of my cooking efforts.
Turkey For Two
When Easter came along this year, I felt sad. Usually we have a big family dinner. We all get together and visit and feast. Our service club hosts an Easter Egg Hunt for the community, which my grandsons love to participate in. But, as we were sheltering in place, we couldn't be with our family to follow our usual tradition.
I decided to make turkey for our Easter dinner anyways, just for the two of us. I purchased the smallest turkey I could find and stuffed it and roasted it.
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| Roast Turkey |
When you look at the photo, don't be fooled by the bare drumsticks. It might have been the juiciest, most delicious turkey I've ever made.
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| Turkey Dinner for Two |
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| Turkey Dinner Close-up |
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| Rob Adds Gravy |
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| Turkey Pie |
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| Two Berry Pies |
I baked two mixed berry pies, one for us and one for my daughter's family. We did a pie drop-off the day before Easter. Perhaps we couldn't all spend the day together, but at least they had dessert for their Easter dinner. This pie has previously made an appearance
here.
Of course we couldn't eat the whole turkey, so I froze much of the meat, and the bones for stock. This week, I used some of the frozen turkey meat to make a turkey pie. I still have lots left for soup.
Indian Curries
Last week, I also made a vegetarian chick pea and vegetable curry. The next day, we ate the rest of the vegetable curry along with some homemade chicken korma. A couple of years ago, my step-daughter gave me a great little cookbook, pictured below. I invested in some good Indian spices and learned to make my curries from scratch.
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| Curry Cookbook |
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| Chicken Korma, Vegetable Curry, & Rice |
Last Words
Rob is an appreciative diner, and therefore a delight to cook for. He cooks sometimes too. He likes to make pancake breakfasts for us on weekends.
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| Devil's Food Cake |
Just in case you're not yet hungry, I've included a picture of a devil's food chocolate cake. I originally got the recipe from a community cookbook and have been making it for 55 years.
Hopefully, my desire to cook will still be with me when we're finally able to have guests for dinner again.
Mmmm - all of this looks and sounds good. I would be an appreciative guest at your dinner table 😀
ReplyDeleteJoanne, although having people over for dinner is something I like to do, my loss of interest in cooking resulted in us hosting far fewer dinners in the past year or two. Hopefully my renewed interest in cooking continues after pandemic restrictions ease.
DeleteJude
I would echo Joanne's words. Early on in the pandemic response, I saw a meme asking 5 questions, one of which was - What expectations of normal am I letting go of today? I came to realize that there was more normal than abnormal in my daily life, including meal planning and preparation. I've always had a well-stocked pantry. I enjoy cooking and eating. I don't like waste. It was deflating to see empty shelves in the grocery store where flour used to be. I am experimenting with sourdough starter. Baking cinnamon buns is still on my to-do list.
ReplyDeleteMona, I too keep a well-stocked pantry. Although I’ve been going to the grocery store every two weeks because we tend to run out of bread, milk, and fresh produce, we could, in fact go without shopping for longer than that. Somewhere in my recipe folders, I have a recipe for UBC’s cinnamon buns. They are quite possibly the best cinnamon buns I’ve ever tasted. Hmm. Maybe I should go dig out that recipe and make them. Except — I have no yeast.
DeleteJude
Hi Jude, All your food photos look delicious. I'm glad cooking and creating beautiful meals help you feel good during these uncertain times.
ReplyDeleteThanks Natalie. I wonder if I’m cooking more because I suddenly have a lot more time? Or if, as you suggest, cooking is a source of comfort — a way of normalizing these abnormal times.
DeleteJude
I’ve just had dinner so I’m already very full! Although, as I’m a vegetarian, not all of your dishes would tempt me. I’m enjoying cooking more because we’re sharing it differently. Since I retired, I have cooked Mon-Fri and John did Sat-Sun. Now that he is working at home and we go for our walk after he finishes, I don’t see why I should be the one to start cooking every night when we get in! Fortunately, he thinks the same so now we do day about. It’s so much nicer to have a regular day off that I feel more creative the other nights.
ReplyDeleteRob does not enjoy cooking much, so he only cooks one evening a week (Thursdays) plus the occasional breakfast. Before the pandemic, we tended to go out for dinner once a week, and we have continued that pattern by picking up food for takeout once a week. So I cook five nights a week, week in and week out. Maybe that’s why I got tired of cooking?
DeleteTo limit our environmental impact, I cook vegetarian once a week, limit beef to once a week, and emphasize fish, poultry, and low-meat meals most of the time.
Jude
Yum! Great photos and fabulous food.
ReplyDeletePlease don't tell Richard that you made Turkey Dinner for Easter. He would have LOVED that!
Everyone in our family loves turkey dinner too (except for the pescatarian branch). As a frugal cook trying to avoid waste, I also love how many meals we can get out of one very small turkey— six so far and there’s still more meat in the freezer.
DeleteJude
Everything looks so good! My husband and I have been doing a lot of cooking... although we cooked and ate at home way more than we went to restaurants when things were normal. I feel sorry for those who were unused to food prep at home and are now facing a steep learning curve and an empty pantry.
ReplyDeleteJanis, my mom and my grandmothers before her were great cooks, and so food has always played a huge role in our family. I grew up enjoying cooking (and eating). All three of my kids are excellent cooks. So although we do like occasional restaurant meals, we also like to eat at home. I can’t imagine not knowing how to cook. Life would be very different. To me, knowing how to cook seems like a basic life skill, as well as a source of self-sufficiency, creativity, enjoyment, and expression of caring.
DeleteJude
I feel so fortunate that you have cooked for us! What a treat. And, for you, what a talent and a passion and a fun hobby, once again. Funny you mention your Easy Bake Oven, as we joked about that at our friends’ boat in the beginning of the year, since they were using a tiny oven. And it came up again recently as well, now that we have a cheap, stand-alone oven in our room.
ReplyDeleteA few days ago, I made my first blueberry crumble coffee cake and we can bake our own pizzas, desserts, and granola again as well. What a nice pandemic side-effect! :-)
Forgot to mention that, unfortunately, there is a flour shortage in the US right now. We just ran out as we’ve not been able to find extra in weeks. So, the baking of homemade desserts and such is done. :-(
DeleteLiesbet, I’m glad that you’ve been able to make use of your oven in your room. We have had a shortage of flour here too. I usually buy just a small bag for the two of us, but I was running out and unable to get any at the store for four weeks. Fortunately I had a little spelt flour and whole wheat flour that I was able to use up, and then I managed to get a huge bag of flour. However, I’ve been unable to get yeast or sugar, and my daughter has mentioned that baking powder and salt are also hard to find. So perhaps my baking is about to come to an end.
DeleteJude
Hi Jude, for some reason I stopped seeing your posts on my Feedly. I have corrected that (I think!). Now I have some catching up to do. Your food looks delicious. I am glad you have an appreciative audience for your efforts. I miss cooking for people.
ReplyDeleteDeb
Hi Deb. I’m not sure why my blog wasn’t showing up in your feed. I haven’t changed any of my settings. Blog gremlins, I guess.
DeleteThe funny thing about cooking for people is that before the shut-down, I was feeling uninterested in cooking, and overwhelmed at the thought of cooking for a bunch of people. I’ve become used to cooking smaller quantities for two, and often the bigger meals are intended multi-day meals that reduce the cooking load on subsequent days. As I’ve become older, I find I have less energy for cooking big family feasts or experimenting with gourmet dishes or special recipes for people on restricted diets. But cooking for people and eating together is a huge part of my family tradition. For big family get-togethers, I love it when each family member contributes a dish. And I still really love having friends over to share a meal and visit, but now I tend to keep the dinner parties small.
Jude
Jude, I am happy to have a husband who cooks also. It makes the day to day meal planning so much easier right now. We use the grille a lot, and we try to keep things simple but flavorful. I am a fan of skillet meals, soups and stews. I'm sure you treasure that pie crust recipe from your mom. The pies look yummy.
ReplyDeleteSuzanne, you are so lucky to have a husband who cooks. Rob doesn’t like to cook, although he cooks one dinner a week to give me a break and usually pancake breakfast once a week. We use the barbecue quite a lot during warm weather, which is just starting now, and Rob often will do the barbecuing while I make the rest of the meal.
DeleteYes, I’ve had that pie crust recipe for probably 40 years, and when I look at my Mom’s printing, I always smile. She always printed rather than using cursive handwriting, and usually in minuscule letters.
Jude
So glad that we had just eaten before reading this post ahaha.
ReplyDeleteThe ebb and flow of your cooking passion is a good reminder of the role of food as a comforting factor. The moment it becomes either forced or produced in large quantities, it becomes more commoditized. But the pandemic has done wonders the world over as people return to their kitchens to bake breads and cakes and to cook with more passion at home.. I was interested to read recently of the flour supply chain in the MIdwest which literally ran out of materials as half a years worth of flour was consumed in two months of the pandemic! Same issue in the UK where Britains famed bakers have been at their ovens...
It made me wistful to see your shelves of cook books and handwritten recipes.. things I have had in the past, but with a nomadic global lifestyle, one cannot hold onto much in the way of books and nostalgic momentos... So yes, I too use the internet when I need a recipe but it is not quite the same as having a cook book propped open on the counter, and with which one has a personal history.
Thanks for a great post. Ben would like a pie delivery by DHL to Mexico !!
Peta & Ben
Tell Ben I’m sorry but he’ll have to make do with the photos of the pie and a healthy imagination.
DeleteI really love my cookbooks and recipe folders and the memories they hold. The pie crust recipe from my Mom is an example. I always think of her when I make pie crust and of all the luscious pies and dinners she prepared for us over her lifetime.
Other recipes take me back to moments in my own history. For example, one of my Moosewood cookbooks has a fabulous recipe for Mississippi Mud Pie cake that I’ve made many times with rave reviews. However, I remember once making it and taking it to a university do back in about 1992. Everybody back then was on a healthy eating kick and pretending that they didn’t like decadent chocolate cake. People circled round and round that cake with lustful looks but no-one took as much as a single slice. I brought the cake home intact and shared it with more sensible friends.
I hope you and Ben are doing well in your lovely Mexican retreat.
Jude