The high temperature in Minneapolis yesterday, according to a
popular Facebook meme, was lower than that of Antarctica; and so I did what
every ounce of my being said I should do.
I stayed in and cooked.
On the menu?
Spaghetti sauce and my father’s homemade meatballs.
“You gotta get in there, really squish it up good,” my dad
would say. “Take them rings off.”
“Should I wash my hands?”
“Nah,” he’d say.
“That’s where the flavor lies.”
He was joking, my dad; and the recipes from him are marked
with his comments. “Add 13 peas”, says
one recipe. “Add one mouthful of warm
water.” “Simmer until Mumma wants to
know just what you think you’re doing in there.”
Like father, like daughter, and I add my own comments to new
recipes. “Feeds six adults or one
teenager.” “One of The Boy’s favorites!”
I copied my cookbook – a large three-ring binder full of
recipes, notes, and stains – for my son a couple years ago. “For My Son,” says the spine. “On the occasion of his 28th
birthday.”
“You’re weird,” he’d said, smiling.
“Yes,” I said.
I send a picture of the finished sauce to him now.
“Looks yum,” he writes.
“It IS yum,” I write.
“There’s a jar for you. Come by tomorrow.”
“Yes,” he says.
It’s terribly cold outside.
But inside, it’s a kitchen.
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22 comments:
Kitchens are the bestest places to be on a cold day. We're feeling a little 'sub arctic' over here as well. Yesterday I made corn bread...today....flat bread and soup.
Now I want to eat spaghetti.
And it's not even very cold here.
Maybe it was the mouthful of warm water part?
Hari OM
Am on a similar 'page' today; typing this from the warmth of the kitchen as the tatties simmer on the stove ready to get mooshed with leeks and cheese. you can add whatever notes you like to that!!! YAM xx
By our standards, it's even cold down here in Georgia. Twenty degrees when I went out to pick up the newspaper this morning. Yeah, I know. You scoff at such temperatures.
But no matter where we live, or how cold it is outside, there's something about cool weather that stirs the cooking gene into action. I love the comments you and your father made with those recipes. (Another idea for a book, perhaps?)
We need our summer back, but spaghetti is a good substitute.
I hate when the weather is warmer in Antarctica. Makes me feel even more miserable deep in my layers of shaggy socks and fuzzy unders. At least cooking sauce makes one feel like the time spent hanging with the stove is not wasted--waisted.
Stay in the kitchen-- sounds like a plan!
It can get downright toasty in a busy kitchen.
For what it's worth, I've also found the dishwasher takes the chill off, if you stand close enough.
P. S. But it doesn't taste as good.
One of my favorite closing lines ever.
Your dad? A HOOT.
LOVE your dad's cooking hints!!
This post warmed a kitchen over a thousand miles from yours. Thanks.
I love the idea of adding personal comments to the pages of a cookbook. I bet it makes it feel like your Dad is right there in the kitchen with you cooking alongside you. :)
It's warming up in Arizona. Maybe I should grill something on the patio.
The best recipes have the most stains.
You, your father,spaghetti sauce and really well smished meatballs...perfect!
Pearls of Wisdom from the Kitchen... It would be a best-seller, if it included notes from you scrawled in the margins.
I bet he will use that recipe book in the future. The aromas of cooking--can't beat it.
We up here in the NORTHERN part of the state are sending you warm weather for he weekend don't waste it cooking get out and party! Love your Dad's recipe style:)
I love cooking up stuff in winter too. I used to take jars of things to my kids, now I get emails from my daughter, "I've mad (whatever) and there's a jar in the fridge for you."
I don't want to talk about how cold it is in New York State ... there are no words.
When it is cold, my crockpot comes out. Heck, you can make soup, stews, and even desserts in that wonderful appliance, although, not at the same time.
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