Everyday Cooking

Announcer Voice Over: "This message is brought to you by Susie Sunshine of Underpaid Kept Woman." You did all that work AND managed to make a kick ass supper WITH dessert?! I bow to your greatness. Posted by: Susie Sunshine at April 18, 2005 08:43 AM When I was growing up my mother and grandmother cooked. Everyday. Breakfast, dinner* and supper**. For us cold cereal in the morning was a TREAT. We did not eat fast food. If we did it was once in a blue moon and was a TREAT. Being raised in the homes of old fashioned women who liked cooking, who liked serving their family a good meal, who kicked ass in the kitchen, who took pride in their skill, cooking rubbed off on me. I love to cook. It is a great pleasure. It is a creative expression. It is one form of my art. I take pride in serving my family a good meal. It is the one meal of the day where everyone is required to be present. No one eats before Dad comes home from work, not even if he is running late and only if I know he won't be home until after the kids bedtime. It is our social event of the day. It is the time we sit together and talk about the day. We bow our heads together and we eat together. I have been cooking for at least 25 years. At the age of 13 I was capable of putting a full meal on the table and did so every time I had the chance. It is a skill that took time to develop. My mother and grandmother nurtured my budding skills. My skills became more defined and took shape in my early teens. My grandmother's brother rented a place from my parents and each day I went down to his house and I cooked for him. I cleaned his house, did his laundry and cooked his supper. My matriarchs never saw themselves as a chef, head cook, or short order cook. They were moms. It is by their example that I raised my own children. My daughter is now 18. She has been cooking since she was 13 also. She can prepare a meal and properly set the table the same as I can. I nutured her skills and in return she has expressed her desire to attend Chef school. She is currently torn between her love of cooking and her love of history so I do not know which will win out in the long run. If she doesn't choose chef school it is no big deal because like her grandmother and great grandmother she kicks ass in the kitchen. A good meal doesn't have to take all day slaving away over a hot stove. I am blessed not to have to work so I have time to do little things through the day that culminates in a good meal every evening. I feel guilty if I haven't put a good meal on the table when my husband comes home. He works very hard every day to provide for us. He does his job exceptionally and he earns a great meal at the end of his day. He calls when he is leaving his office and in that time I get busy and finish up whatever I have going in the kitchen so that when he walks in the evening meal is on the table. Everyday. Our evening meal is usually little bits of lots of things. I much prefer a small portion of several items to large portions of one thing. Meat is not always the entree. Sometimes we have a kitchen sink type salad bowl and anything and everything in the frig is up for grabs. Sometimes I may take the time to fry chicken, cook a roast, make a homemade soup or chilli while other times we may eat leftovers or something I have in the freezer from a mega cooking explosion. If it is on sale at the grocery store and it is something my family likes, I buy quantity, spend time cooking and then freeze it for quick meals later. It doesn't take all day to cook a great meal. Experience creates efficiency. I do not understand women who do not cook. I do not understand serving a happy meal to a child for supper. I wasn't raised that way. It is foreign to me. I cook. I am a good cook. I like to cook. I feel pride in my skill. I do not find it to be "woman's work." I do not get tired of cooking. I do admit I hate cleaning the dishes. But that is what kids are for. I cook a good meal the least they can do is help with the dishes. Given the choice of cooking supper or dining out, I usually never choose dining out. I cook better than most restaurants anyway. Thank you Susie for the compliment. I am just doing what comes natural to me. I am a mom who cooks. *In the south dinner is the midday meal known by many as lunch. ** Supper is the evening meal. Posted by Angie at 07:18 AM | Comments (2)