I’ve found inspiration from an animated rat
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I’m not one for cooking. Never have been and I’m not sure if I ever will be. My mother didn’t cook but my mother-in-law does and when we visit I do watch her as if I am watching Food Network. She doesn’t say, “Yummo!” like Rachael Ray does and there are no commercial breaks. It’s great.
What I can do is chop and wash dishes, so that’s what I contribute when she creates the meals. And somehow at her house cooking really seems doable. The colors are brighter, food seems easy and the sun is extra brilliant over there. So every time we drive back to our house I make a silent vow to give it a try.
Because she made it look so easy or rather she made it look so attainable. She broke down each step as she was cooking and it felt like I might have a chance.
Side note: My mother-in-law makes her own hot fudge sauce. So when dessert is served she whips out the Hershey’s Cocoa Powder and whatever else goes into that recipe and within five minutes we’re eating ice cream with homemade hot fudge sauce.
Come again?
I swear I did not know creating that sauce was a possibility. We purchased the chocolate syrup. Isn’t that how it’s done? I’m positive I did not purchase Hershey’s Cocoa Powder until I was married for a couple of years. And I am also positive it was Mr. C who bought the first container.
But I digress. When we get back to our house my hope seems to fizzle. It all sort of falls apart and the sun doesn’t shine quite as brightly at our house as it did at hers. Somehow I always end up throwing a frozen pizza in the oven and making a hot dog in the microwave for the kid who doesn’t like pizza.
Enter “Ratatouille”
My kids have been watching that animated movie in the van as we drive running errands and doing the drop off at school. So I’ve heard the movie at least four or five times now. The basic plot is that a rat named Remy has a superior sense of smell and cooking ability. He meets up with a gangly guy, Linguini, who works at Chef Gusteau’s restaurant as the garbage boy.
They create a friendship and then Remy guides Linguini to incredible cooking. People rave about his recipes and it’s all because the rat, Remy, is such a great cook. Amidst all of this Remy speaks to Gusteau, the dead owner of the restaurant, who appears to him as a figment of his imagination.
And Chef Gusteau’s main belief is “Anyone can cook.”
I have heard that line so often that I’ve started to give it a try. And Melissa at Alosha’s Kitchen has provided quite a few recipes.
She is extra inspiring because she is similar to me. She has no cooking background, no family member who taught her what a white sauce is, she’s just winging it and learning as she goes. And she is successful!
I’ve made her breaded pork chops to rave reviews from Mr. C. He actually said, “Don’t take this the wrong way but this is the best meal you have ever made.” Yeah and that’s after 14 years of marriage.
I still took it as a huge compliment and it inspired me to make the corn chowder that she wrote about this week.
It. Was. Incredible. I turned that corn chowder out in a big bad way. Mr. C ate four bowls of it. I had two. Two of my kids enjoyed it, the other one is picky.
And it all started from a white sauce!! I actually watched the butter thicken before my eyes as I added flour. It was so awesome. And it really tasted great. It had bacon. Who doesn’t like bacon? No one, according to the internet.
Though I did have to fight off all three kids as the bacon came out of the microwave. They love bacon, too. No wonder since everyone loves bacon.
Anyway, I actually had two of my kids standing on a chair in the kitchen helping me whisk, stir and pour in chicken broth. Look at me; I’m slowly adding chicken broth to butter and flour and onions. Me!
And my kids are learning to cook. From. Me!
This is a huge moment in my life as a mother. I really cannot explain how happy I am to know my kids will remember standing on a chair next to me in front of the stove as we made a white sauce.
And I have my mother-in-law, Melissa and Remy to thank.
You can microwave bacon?
And I’m with you on the ability to cook. I think it’s such a useful and inspiring ability to have because it deals with one of our baser instincts – the desire for food. Being able to make tasty food is taking that instinct and going one better.
I love cooking (one of my OGT’s), but I don’t get the chance to do it very often. I have to kick mom out of the house to do it. :D
Yes, sir. I really hate making bacon in a pan what with all of the grease and the popping of the grease and then having to clean the grease out of the pan. Hate the grease.
Anyway it’s faster and easier in the microwave. I wish I had someone in this house who I had to kick out of the kitchen. Oh well, maybe next time you’re in the States you can make me some kippers for breakfast.
I am so excited for you! This is the coolest thing ever! And I am so excited for Melissa that she has gone from no cooking experience whatsoever to inspiring other people to cook… that is really amazing.
I always think that teaching me to cook was one of the greatest gifts my mother gave me, so you really are doing something wonderful for your girls : )
One thing though… microwaved bacon?!
I did wonder if any cooks out there would catch the microwaved bacon and if so, what they would think about it. You pretty much answered both of those questions.
I’m not big on bacon. That would be ONE. I think it is the smell that lingers for the rest of the day that turns me off. Now, when we are camping and there is all that wide open space for the smell to dissipate…..then I like bacon.
I don’t enjoy cooking. I can and do, but not willingly. Now, Joe, on the other hand likes it. But he’s not all that creative. He has his “Fab Five”– which is the same five meals over and over again until I yell and scream “No! Not chili again!” and fall over.
I can make some good meals, but I hate cooking shows (except for Top Chef) and want to die when people start talking recipes. I’ve got the tried and true Betty Crocker cookbook that I refer to on many occasions.
Good for you that you are catching up to Mom there! She sounds fab! Gees, homemade hot fudge?! Love her.
Lin. LIN?! No bacon? You don’t like the smell o’ bacon? For shame. That’s so funny how your eyes glaze over at the mention of recipes. My husband has the BC cookbook — he brought that to the marriage. I brought no cookbooks to the marriage, though that should not come as a big surprise.
darn you cardiogirl for making me tear up at the end!!!
i actually LOVE to cook and bake, even though i don’t always have time for the details. when i do get the chance, it excites me more than it should.
i don’t understand anyone who doesn’t eat pizza. mine doesn’t eat pizza. everybody loves pizza and ice cream.
@ solomon, yes you can microwave bacon, comes out crispier. i do it EVERY morning. i eat the fat of the pig everyday.
Do you use regular bacon or that kind that’s for the microwave? It’s so greasy no matter how you prepare it. I’m with you on pizza, I don’t get it. I don’t understand it and I wonder if she’s genetically mine.
Those pork chops look sooo good! My hubby hates pork chops, so maybe if I make them this way he will like them. He says he hates them because when his mom made them they were dry and hard to chew. When I make them they are not dry (normally), but he still doesn’t like them. Cheese in the breading will have to help.
That’s one meal I do remember my mother making — pork chops with baked beans. And the pork chops were EXACTLY like you described. And the beans were like paste. Yuck.
But these chops were really tender and tasty. He might re-think pork chops after this recipe.
My mother used to make a hot caramel sauce that was even better than hot fudge. I can’t for the life of me replicate it!
Isn’t it a drag when someone somewhere has the best stuff and you can’t get it elsewhere? There’s a bakery in my home town that makes really good butter cookies with sprinkles. I have tried and tried to re-create them or to find another store/bakery that makes them Nothing doing. Grr.
I still cannot believe there are kids out there that don’t like pizza, even though I’ve seen it with my very own eyes. My friends’ kids don’t like pizza. Who doesn’t like pizza?! Mind-boggling.
This post is really so sweet. I almost teared up at the end, imagining the four of you ladies huddled around the stove, cooking together. Grace helps me mix and stir sometimes, and I absolutely love it. Plus I am thrilled that you’re starting to get into cooking!! I love it so, and I hope you find some enjoyment too.
Speaking of homemade hot fudge sauce, Smitten Kitchen, who writes an AWESOME food blog, posted a recipe for it on her blog a few days ago. I saved it to my computer with the thought that I could try it sometime. I already make my own hot cocoa because it tastes so much better than the mix, plus it’s cheaper too!
It’s nuts to me. It was so much fun, blue. I really think this cooking thing might take off over here. I think I’m going to have to invade some of your recipes and your cooking blog buddies’ recipes. I’m off to find hot fudge sauce now. Thanks for the link!
Um, back and wow. It’s been added to my feed reader. Wow.
That’s so sweet. I loooved cooking with my parents and grandmoma when I was growing up and when it was time for me to venture into the world of cooking during college, I remembered way more than I realized. I’ve rarely turned out a dish that was terrible. My mother gave me her Joy of Cooking cookbook. It’s 40 years old, but it comes in can answer any question on the best method to prepare just about anything.
I didn’t know I liked to cook until I had something to cook for. I still don’t like cooking much for myself, but have always enjoyed preparing a big meal my loved ones.
I’ve always wondered if I would ever be able to look into the fridge and cupboard, see what we had and then become a cooking Macgyver. Can you do that? I’ve heard quite a few folks make that comment — that it’s more fun to cook for someone else than just yourself.
And if you’re looking for someone to cook for…
A stay-at-home Mom that doesn’t cook? What do you do all day? That is one of the responsibilities if you’re staying home; might as well get a job….I’m such a pig…..just kidding, of course….
Oink, oink. You better watch your back dude. I have a microwave ready heat up the bacon.
That’s wonderful!
Most of my wife’s attention is focused on food. There’s planning, shopping, preparation, and eating. There’s also reading about it and watching cooking shows. Cleaning up is generally my responsibility and involves properly loading the dishwasher.
That sounds like a perfect partnership to me :)
Look at you, all cooking and stuff — and making a white sauce woohoo!!!! The kids didn’t tug on different sides of your ponytail to make your hands move, did they? In that case, I’d say Ratatouille was at saturation point in the van. Careful on that Smitten Kitchen –she is totally addicting and complete captivating. Thank you for the sweet post!
I know!
They haven’t started tugging my ponytail yet. But Katie is desperate to learn how to cook. So she might be standing on a chair behind me yanking on my locks sooner than I think. And yes ma’am I expect to spend lots of time over at the Smitten Kitchen. Talk about getting sucked into a food vortex. I can’t stop!
I can indeed scrounge up meals from random ingredients, but that may have something to do with being very poor and hungry in college. I still do it when I’ve hit my $400 grocery limit for the month. Allrecipes.com is great for that if you’re feeling uninspired.
My mother always microwaved bacon between paper towels. Growing up, I thought only old people did it in the skillet because my grandmother was the only person I had seen do it that way.
I’ve always thought that was such a cool thing — to survey a fridge and whip up something from thin air. Wouldn’t that be fun as a challenge for the people on “Top Chef?” I would love to see one of those chefs make a meal out of Cheez-Its, apples, diet pop and flour tortillas (the staples I always buy at the store.)
Oh, man. You are going to be SO glad you taught those babies to cook! Yesterday I had a particularly stressful day (well, for me, anyway), and my 17-year-old took over dinner duty and whomped up the most delicious potato soup with a hot loaf of homemade bread.
That corn chowder looks heavenly!
This is such funny timing, Suzi, because I *did* see that twitter about her potato soup. I was ready to reply and then my 3-year-old announced she had to go potty. We’re going full-force, no pull ups, running upstairs to make it over here, so I felt the adrenaline rise and we both high-tailed it up the stairs.
And then I totally forgot about you even though Twitter was up on the screen. I am looking forward to seeing what my kids will whip up when they’re teenagers. And I am in awe of the fact that she also multi-tasked and made bread from scratch. Wow!
Oh, CG, I just want to cry. I was getting all excited about maybe learning how to cook a fabulous recipe. I clicked on your link to Melissa’s Breaded Pork Chops, but I can’t get past the very first instruction: “…fresh breadcrumbs made from crustless French bread”
What does that mean???? How would you get bread crumbs out of something that was crustless? And how is bread crustless anyway? I’m so sad and depressed.
See, this is why I don’t try to cook. It’s too hard! Wah!
Okay Kathy. I thought the very same thing when I first saw that. This can be salvaged.
Don’t tell Melissa, but I used three pieces of wheat bread from the loaf in the fridge. I threw those in my blender — first time I thought of that — and they came out as incredible crumbs. Oh, I was so proud of that.
But back to the crustless French bread. I know not the answers to your questions, young Jedi. I’m not even positive I know what French bread is. I think it’s a long, submarine-shaped loaf of bread that has a super hard crust? Don’t know. We strictly go processed wheat over here.
That is beyond cool. And yes, I believe that as long as you love to EAT, there is hope to cook. Cooking is one of my dear hobbies and I taught myself from trial and error. During summer breaks when my then 4th grade self and 1st grade sister were home alone, we’d play “Joe’s Diner.” I’d just raid the fridge and cook whatever I wanted.
Best part was I got to eat the mess ups that my sister wouldn’t eat (shut up, leaving your kids at home with free reign of fire producing appliances was ok back then).Then in the afternoon we’d watch the only cooking show in existence at the time: Julia Child! Almost 30 years later, I’m still playing “Joe’s Diner” – just the food has vastly improved and the shows are more plentiful :)
I have to say that was my main thought — a FOURTH GRADER HOME ALONE WITH A FIRST GRADER?! But those times were wild, weren’t they? I have to applaud your ingenuity back then. I never once thought, as a kid, to make a game out of preparing food.
However I am a last-born and I do remember begging my older sister to make me a peanut butter sandwich because I didn’t feel like making it.
I was really hungry, but lazy, and I remember going to bed with actual hunger pains because she wouldn’t make the sandwich. Gah, how lame is that? I really cannot believe I was that lazy, but I remember it well.
That’s awesome. My mom is not a cook. As my family puts it, she cooks to survive. Luckily my dad is an awesome cook. He typically cooked on the weekends and my mom during the week, since she got off work earlier. As we got older, my dad did more and more of the cooking since we could eat later.
My brother is a trained chef, so we eat really well now at family functions :) As he puts it to his cooking students, I had to learn to cook as a matter of survival (he’s the youngest and my dad was traveling a lot during some of his high school years). I’m a decent cook but rarely take the time.
btw, check out thepioneerwoman.com if you want some straightforward recipes with instructions including photos.
Thanks for the link, Buf. That’s so interesting that your brother became a chef and he was a last born. I just told BusyDad about my own lame experience as a last born. Never did learn to cook as a survival mechanism, but I should have. It’s probably why I routinely subsist on Cheez-Its and diet pop.
Another website I love to visit is MyRecipes.com, and the bonus to that is you can look for lighter fare if you wish by looking at only the Cooking Light recipes. Plus you can save your recipes into a “recipe file” that’s accessible from any computer. I get so many awesome recipes from there, and they have a lot of quick-to-the-table meals that are a lot better than Rachael Ray! (No offense to RR fans out there; she’s just WAY too perky for me.)
We make our bacon in the oven. 400ยบ for about 15-20 minutes. No muss, no fuss. You can line your baking sheet with foil to prevent a whole lot of mess, or you can even use a broiler pan so the fat falls into the pan below it. I like to make an entire package of bacon, then lay the bacon on a cookie sheet without any pieces touching, put it into the freezer, and when the pieces are frozen hard, I take them out and put them into a bag and stick back in the freezer. Pre-made bacon! All you have to do is heat it up in the microwave. It also works well for the times that you need just a little bit of crumbled bacon for one reason or another but you don’t feel like stinking up the house with bacon smell again.
Bacon is just about the only pork I like a lot. The rest of it is rather meh. No, thanks.
Ooh, now that’s an interesting concept of saving the recipes. I always do a print screen, enlarge it and print it out.
I love that idea of the bacon ahead of time and then freezing it. What a clever idea! But when you bake it on the cookie sheet doesn’t the bacon grease pop up and splatter the inside of the stove? Or is that why the broiler pan option exists?
I hear you on the cooking front. It’s a bit intimidating. some friends and i started a cooking blog for moms – check it out sometime. it’s http://www.feasties.wordpress.com.
Hmm, that sounds intriguing, I’ll have to head on over there.
My oldest son ate pizza until he was 2, then suddenly refused it – for about 7 years! I thought the same thing … how can a kid not like pizza? He also doesn’t like mashed potatoes. Crazy.
I don’t always respond to comments as quickly as you do, but I did give a response to your comment on my blog. Hope you’ll check back (my comment section falls far short of a VIP lounge – actually kind of lonely in there).
Isn’t it funny the stuff kids will eat and won’t eat?
Thanks for the reply, Wendy. You’ve sparked so many different thoughts that I think I have to write you a real letter to further discuss. Otherwise I will end up writing a post in your comments. I did find your answering intriguing and realized how caught up I am in my own situation. Watch you mailbox!
That’s awesome! I’ve been trying to be more of a cook myself. First Tip Junkie and now this, I just started reading Alosha’s Kitchen a few weeks ago! I made her Carbonara and it was so easy and so tasty. I had been making Carbonara for years and I never knew, until reading her blog, that a true Carbonara doesn’t use cream. Talk about a surprise!
I know! It’s so fun! Um, what’s carbonara? Is it a red sauce for spaghetti? I guess I’ll have to look through Melissa’s archives to figure that one out. I love running into you at other people’s sites. It’s like running up to Kroger’s to pick up sour cream and some cheese and then seeing you down the aisle. I didn’t know you shopped here!
I’ll see you over at frozen foods!
You go CG! Shoot I just brushed my teeth and rinsed w/ mouth wash and now I’m hungry. I prefer to Macgyver it in the kitchen and dinners always turn out a little different at our house you just never know, while my husband likes this ,my kids yeah not so much. I have a few cooking blogs I like but they’re vegetarian ones, no bacon sorry. I may have to check out that hot fudge recipe. Btw thank you for your comment on my blog, I really appreciate knowing someone else understands , especially another Mother :)
No sweat Heather. What’s the internet for if we can’t share experiences? I hope the storm dissipates sooner than later.
I think I will be checking out some vegetarian sites — Ash Wednesday is next week and then it’s meatless Friday til Easter.
You go, girl! Hopefully, your enthusiasm will be contagious and I will begin cooking for my malnourished family – but…..probably not! Oh wait – it’s too late – none of them live with me anymore!
You’re right, that is a wonderful memory for your girls! Back in the days when I used to cook, I always felt such a sense of accomplishment after dinner was cooked and cleaned up. I bet your girls are having a blast!
Bon Apetite! (sp?)
I love that! Oh, wait. They don’t live here anymore. It is fun giving them a “real” meal as opposed to the hot dogs and grapes that I usually give them.
Even I could not cook to save my life till a while ago. I always had a live in cook. But the last few years, I have taught myself to cook, courtesy the internet. But true cooking using a variety of herbs etc is still beyond me.
I taught my godsons who live with me how to cook and now they would rather cook themselves something with a lot of grease than eat my low-fat cooking. So sometimes just to get things done, I have to throw them out of the kitchen otherwise the dinner would never get done over their objections and protests.
I’d forgotten that you used to have a cook — I think you mentioned that on one of the Book of Questions post. I’m telling you, if someone at my house was going to cook *anything* you would never have to throw me out of the kitchen. Like I told Solomon, if you’re ever in the States, I have a fully functional stove and a microwave…
The pride that is felt when you’ve stepped into the unknown (cooking), and had such appreciation (family gobbling it up) – it’s like no other. I don’t know your personality, but when I cautiously stretched one toe into the shallow end of this particular pool, I loved it so much that I wanted to throw my whole self into the deep end, and not come out. I now love cooking, researching, and planning new things for us to try. Cooking is now my drug of choice. Great post, and thanks for sharing, especially the bit about your children. Happy cooking!
Howdy Sarah! Welcome to the Cardiogirl Empire!
It is awesome to receive rave reviews at something I have little confidence in. I usually ask my husband, with skepticism, “Really? You really like it? You’re not just saying that?”
However, I have to say he’s very honest with me and will tell me when my butt looks sort of huge in a pair of pants that are still too small. I appreciate that and I know he’s telling the truth any time I ask him about something.
And it is fun creating new new meals from the recipes I’ve found. I’m hoping to keep the trend going!
I would feel honored if something I wrote prompted an entire post by the revered Cardiogirl. Still, I’m looking forward to your letter. I just popped one in the mail to you today, but put it in my mailbox with the flag up. I never doubted this method before (though I never really used it much), but somehow here in the boonies, I always wonder if the letter I put in my own box for our country postman to take will get lost somewhere. Hopefully not!
Wendy, Wendy. This is all smoke and mirrors — pay no attention to that chick behind the curtain.
I usually feel the same way when I prop an out-going letter in our mailbox. Ours is one of those rectangular metal boxes attached to the side of the house, right next to the front door. So half of the letter is sticking out of the box and I’m usually afraid the wind is going to blow it away, so I try to nail the lid shut so the top half is bent, still sticking out of the box.
I should just throw it in the mailbox that is literally three houses away across the street. But I prefer to stress over things I cannot control.
Wendy, I am honored, believe me. Sorry CG. Up until today, I have been working OT in the evenings with deadlines and am just catching up from Sunday and Monday on my bloggity blogs.
Thoughts:
Deb at smitten kitchen is AMAZING.
I wish I could be a better cooking Macgyver.
Kari, use cream if you wanna! And thanks!
Cardiogirl, my dear lady, I cannot tell you how happy I am to hear you speak about cooking this way. I feel it is something invaluable that you can pass on to your girls (or boys, if you had ‘em). Cooking naturally and at home is the best. You know what is going into your food and you can adjust any kind of seasonings to your (or your loved ones’) liking. Fresh, quality food. Nothing better for you and those you care about.
I loved that concept in Ratatouille. Anyone can cook. I almost cried when I heard that. Because if I can start from nothing, anyone can. Not even knowing how to cut up an onion or mince a clove of garlic, for crying out loud. Anyone can do it.
By the way, the bread is fine hahaha. What I always interpreted about that (and I use it for numerous recipes) is I buy a loaf of French bread (most often used for garlic bread or sandwich rolls) from the grocery store or a local bakery, peel away the crust/scoop out the innards by hand, and grind that in the processor. Voila. Beautiful, tasty crumbs.
Thank you CG. You truly have no idea how happy this post made me. All kinds of love to you, my friend.
No stress chica! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
I have to say you really have been the tipping point for me regarding giving this stuff a try. I certainly don’t feel I am in your league at all. But I find you and your experiences so inspiring since I know we are starting at a similar point.
I don’t think I’m ready to attempt your Thanksgiving dinner, but that looked *damn tasty* sister. And I’m really looking forward to running into you, Bluesleepy and Elle over at Smitten Kitchen. Her site is so visually appealing and so well written. I think I shall never emerge the same.
Thanks again and I’m so happy you enjoyed this post!
p.s. What do you do with the hollowed out crust? Make a sandwich stuffing the meat and cheese inside?
If I am that for you, Home Cook (tasteofhomecooking.blogspot.com) was that for me. You may really like her too. She is real everyday cooking, amped up a bit.
I throw the crust away, by the way. I grind up all the crumbs, use some for whatever I am making and store the rest in the refrigerator to use later. They last a week or so.
This is so fun finding so many new cooking blogs. It really is like walking into a new shoe store and finding there are that many more types of shoes available and they’re just waiting there for me to try them on. Thanks for the new link!
This is like the yearbook I never had. (That’s right. I don’t have any yearbooks, class rings or senior pictures.)
A blogging yearbook. Ah, the joys of reminiscing.
And yes, Jeff is out of town.
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