Monday Memoir - Week 7

I have been taking my Crockpot into overdrive lately. There are so many good comfort food recipes that fit perfectly into the Crockpot AND allow for an easy dinner. I feel like the chicken or the egg – do I love to cook because I love to eat, or do I love to eat because I love to cook? I’m looking forward to hearing about your favorite foods… We’ll be ready for a sweet treat when we get home.

1. Describe your cooking skills and your favorite thing to cook.

2. Describe one of your favorite foods from childhood.

Describe your cooking skills and your favorite thing to cook.

I love to cook. There are times when my enthusiasm wanes – especially when there are several meals in a row where the boys initial reaction is – ewwww! However, I still do love to cook. Other than The Old Schoolhouse, the only magazines I subscribe to are cooking magazines. Not the foofy ones that have ingredients I don’t know where to get and the boys would never touch – down home recipes that we all enjoy. It brings me great pleasure to put food on the table for my family that they all love. Yes! Mom’s cooking mushroom chicken for dinner! Or, Hurray!, Chicken Pie! It’s a good feeling to provide that for them.

My favorite thing to cook – that’s a hard one. I love making foods that everyone will eat. When it comes to the holidays, there are some recipes that the season wouldn’t be complete without. Snowball cookies, butterscotch-chocolate peanut clusters, cornbread dressing, my favorite fruit salad. Desserts are probably my favorite – blueberry cream, flan, apple custard pie, cheesecake, the list goes on and on. (So will my behind if I make these too often!) So, my favorite thing to cook is dessert.

My least favorite thing to cook – fish. My husband doesn't eat fish, so I haven’t ever really learned how to handle it. I love to eat salmon, but I’ve never learned just how it’s supposed to be prepared.

Describe one of your favorite foods from childhood.

One of the recipes I miss from childhood is good old-fashioned pumpkin pie. My mother used to take the jack-o-lanterns right after Halloween and bake them. Then she’d puree the pumpkin and store it for pies. The smell of pumpkin pie always meant family and fun. A little dollop of whipped cream on top was the perfect complement.

Why do you miss pumpkin pie, you ask? Well… When I moved to the South, I discovered sweet potatoes. They are wonderful! Baked, sweet potato casserole, in a pie – yum! What I also discovered is that my husband’s family does not like pumpkin. If I make a pumpkin pie, I’m the only one that eats it. That’s no fun. Well, it is, but only briefly. If I’m going to put that much effort into making a pie, I want people to enjoy it with me. So, pumpkin pie is a rarity for me now, but the memories are still there.

Isn’t it funny how food comes to symbolize special times in our lives? What foods mean tradition and family to you? Link up - I want to read about your fond food memories.