.....and other random stuff......

Friday, October 14, 2011

365 Days

My mother was a gourmet cook. But she didn’t start out that way.

She was always a good cook, but came from a rather mundane background (gastronomically speaking.)

Her mother was Irish and her father was English.  Two cultures not exactly known for their wild culinary dishes.

She knew how to make the basics, roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, fish and chips, Sheppard’s pie, bubble and squeak.

All good food but not exactly inspired.

Which is what my father said one day, “We seem to eat the same thing over and over.”

Well……………………
You didn’t throw down the gauntlet in front of my mother and expect her not to rise to the challenge!

So she started her plan.

She researched (and this was way before the internet made researching so easy!) This was in the days of actually going to the library! Which is what she did.

She scoured old cookbooks, she read all the women’s magazines, she wrote to friends and relatives for recipes.

She read the papers every Sunday to see what was on sale and planned accordingly.

She prepared meals that would have made Escoffier weep!

One night as we sat at the dinner table, my mother came out of the kitchen with my father’s plate, set it in front of him and said, “This is the three hundred and sixty fifth meal, not counting lunches, I have made for you since your complaint. And NOT ONCE did I repeat one single meal! Including leftovers! I never want to hear you complain again!”

He didn’t.

6 comments:

  1. Good for her!....and what's this about the English not being known for their wild culinary skills!!....LOL. ok i ADMIT IT you are right...at least this one HATES COOKING which is why husb. has resorted to doing the cooking, but we never have roast beef and yorkshire pud, or bubble and squeak...as I said to an aged Aunt once who asked what we ate, 'we have Pizza, Curry, Lasagne and lots of other delicious dinners'...the aged Aunt huffily said 'don't you have anything English'...to which I said 'No...we don't like boring food'....LOL. (no kidding, that was true).

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  2. I'll BET he didn't! LOL. That is one cool momma!

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  3. Another enjoyable peek into your life Robin. Thanks for sharing and brava to your Mom. xx

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  4. She must have been a bit upset! Evidently your dad must have enjoyed the variety of tastes as it sounds like he didn't complain all that year about the strange foods.

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  5. Sort of wondering if he didn't compliment her on her new-found exoticism (??) BEFORE she chastised him a year later!! But the challenge she took on - awesome!!

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