First Thing I Cooked :Cooking Memories from a Midwest Kitchen
I’ve always cooked. The kitchen is where my I exhibit my nesting instincts the strongest. I grew up in the kitchen, recipes and their results were valued as the best presents, the best investments of time together. When I wanted an easy bake oven, mom said “No, you can use the real oven” From there she taught me kitchen safety, and gave me my first cookbook. Mickey Mouse’s Kitchen. Jim and I were regularly assigned to make the salad at dinner, chopping lettuce, peeling and slicing cucumbers. I became a pro at brownies, and making kolachkies was a holiday tradition.
Cooking was always assisted, a collaborative effort, until I hit my tweens and prepared for my first solo flight. The recipe was an apple tart from some teen magazine. The recipe looked interesting, and different from my families “apple slices”. After making sure we had the ingredients and getting permission, I took over the kitchen. With a few questions to translate a sophisticated cooking term or two, I was off and running. Cutting in butter, rolling out pastry and slicing apples thinly to scatter across the dough. The recipe was ok, nothing ground shaking, not any better then mom’s apple slices, but this was my recipe, my decision to make something new and to explore a recipe for the first time.
I moved on quickly, exploring cookbooks and magazines. Happiness for me was being tucked into the library , the carrels in the back with a stack of recipes. I went vegetarian for the first time not long after. What better way to try new recipes but drastically alter your diet. I’m sure it caused a ruckus at home as i cooked my own dinner, dirtying up a dozen more dishes in my efforts. The family never complained though, and my mom was an active participant as i introduced her to the exotic tastes of blueberry cheese blintzes and Indian food.
That’s how I started. Looking back I’m glad I didn’t get Easy Bake Oven. Instead I was given skills to last my my entire life. A nice trade off for a pink plastic box with a light bulb.
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