When I was about eight-years old, I was sitting on the back step of my home, resting from a rigorous afternoon of playing baseball. My father sat next to me. He was a man of few words, and I shuddered when he said, “There’s something I’ve been meaning to talk with you about.”
My mind was racing with the possibilities, and none of them were good. He must have noticed I chipped a shingle by hitting it with a baseball last week. Or perhaps a neighbor had a broken window pane and I was the obvious culprit to blame. I inhaled and remained silent.
“Your mom isn’t a very good cook.”
“Uh, she’s okay, I guess.”
“She and I have noticed you messing around in the kitchen.”
Oh boy, I must have broken something. Or I didn’t clean the skillet good enough after that last batch of beans and franks.
“Yes, sir.” I waited for the bad news.
“”You like cooking a little, don’t you?”
“Yes, sir. I do. And whatever it is, I’ll take care of it. Just tell me what I need to do.”
He smiled. “No, no, nothing like that. You didn’t do anything wrong. Just opposite. Your mom and I think that if you want to mess around more in the kitchen, you go right ahead. You have our permission. If you want to cook us dinner every now and then, when you think you’ve got a meal that we’d like, we’d appreciate that. In fact, I’m looking forward to it.”
That was my initial venture into cooking. I must admit I was terrible at the start, but became a self-taught engineer of interesting combinations. I even tried catering for a short time, but didn’t like the clean-up after the party. Here are some recipes that I’ve made and found palatable. I’ve classified some as Quick and Easy for those times when we must create a delicious meal in one hour or less.
If you enjoy it, share the recipe and let me know how it came out. I’m going to continue to mess around and share a recipe every now and then.
Martyatl 