Lessons in Cooking (Jan 14, 2025)

My mother was an excellent home cook, and she loved to experiment with food. She could take anything and turn it into something delicious, whether it was sweet or savory. She invented her own recipes, self-published her own cookbooks, and entered her creations into local cooking contests. In fact, she won first place for her Honey Almond Chicken in the Delmarva Chicken Cooking Contest. 

Mom taught me to cook from a very early age, more out of necessity than anything else. She began working as a Nurse’s Aide at Beebe Hospital when I was very young to add to the family income. Later, she went back to school and earned her credentials as a Licensed Practical Nurse. Eventually, she became a private duty nurse, caring for elderly retirees who moved to the beach from nearby cities. Since she worked the night shift, cooking became my responsibility. 

I love to cook and, although I didn’t appreciate it at the time, I had access to the best ingredients in town. We had an enormous produce garden - about 3-5 acres if you count the acres of sweet corn and watermelons. My dad was an exceptional gardener with the talent to grow just about anything. We enjoyed fresh corn, string beans, peas, lima beans, onions, potatoes, broccoli, turnips, beets, cucumbers, tomatoes, and a variety of fruit, including strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries. My dad wouldn’t eat salads, so we never grew lettuce that I recall. I don’t remember growing carrots either, but we did eat them. Maybe we bought them at the local IGA? 

In late summer, we would begin preserving any leftover produce for use during the winter. I remember hours spent boiling and peeling beets, blanching and skinning tomatoes, and cutting corn off hundreds of cobs. I can still see the rows of wooden shelves that wound around our basement, now completely lined with jar after jar of canned goods from our summer garden. There was never a lack of food in our house, summer or winter.

I learned to cook very basic foods as my dad would not eat anything fancy. Just meat, potatoes and veggies. He did have a soft spot for bread and desserts, so mom taught me to bake. To this day, I love the smell of yeast foaming in a cup and fresh cinnamon rolls baking in the oven. Flaky apple pie, melt-in-your-mouth fudge, and chewy oatmeal cookies baking in the oven still make the best air fresheners! 

The one food my mom taught me to make that I couldn’t tolerate was sauerkraut! I hated the smell of it then, and I hate it now. In fact, my stomach won’t tolerate it. So, no sauerkraut in my house! 

Today, at 74, I’m expanding my culinary horizons, cooking dishes my father and husband would never eat. I take classes at OLLI’s, watch Food Network, and experiment with what I learn. Just this year, I mastered Chicken Curry, green enchilada sauce, and clam chowder soup from scratch – proof that it’s never too late to learn new skills. 

I’m thankful I learned to cook from my mom; and, when my daughter was young, I passed those skills on to her as well. In fact, she’s a better cook than I am!

My biggest regret, though, is not teaching my son. The society I grew up in didn’t encourage men to cook – it was “unmanly.” Thankfully, times have changed, and he’s now starting to pick up some of those skills as well. 

So, thank you, Mom, for teaching me how to cook. I may not have appreciated it when I was young, but I sure do now. Your lessons have been a gift that keep on giving!