Thanks, Mom.

I love to cook. Thanks, Mom. "Girls, come into the kitchen for a minute. You'll want to know how to do this later." We'd roll our eyes and mope to the kitchen for a demonstration. Before long though, I was voluntarily sitting on the kitchen stool across the counter from mom, chatting while she fixed dinner. Sure enough, because of her, I can whip up most of our family staples. Mom's specialties include:

1) chicken poppyseed casserole. (served with corn, green beans, squash, homemade yeast rolls.)
2) lasagna. (again with the corn and green beans.)
3) fried chicken. (must be served with biscuits, mashed potatoes, white gravy, green beans.)
4) or fried chicken the other way, which is fried-then-baked with cheese and broccoli on top
5) chicken & dumplings. (arguably the best comfort food ever invented. but only if someone else is cooking it, because it is kinda complicated.)
6) tuna patties (better than it sounds, trust me. peas and carrots mandatory, mashed potatoes if you're lucky.)
7) the aforementioned homemade yeast rolls. (we have friends who request them at their own thanksgiving dinner.)
8) chocolate chip cookies. (mom used this recipe to snag dad back in the day, we're told.)
9) sausage balls. (excellent breakfasty item. they look complicated; they aren't. and the recipe makes like 120 of 'em.)
10) sugar biscuits. (anyone else's mom make these? say you had biscuits with dinner the night before. the next morning, mom splits the leftover biscuits open, spreads a little butter, then sprinkles powdered sugar on some, brown sugar on some, and cinnamon sugar on some.)
11) chess pie. (a finicky recipe, for some reason. I've never done two that look the same. I'm convinced mom left out an ingredient when she gave me the recipe.)
12) fudge pie. (Bluebell Homemade Vanilla required.)
13) strawberry pie. (summertime heaven.)

I could go on. But I should point out that Dad was our resident professional grilled cheese sandwich maker. But on the rare occasion that he got one side a little too toasty, I clearly remember that he would volunteer to eat that one and make us a new lighter one. He taught me his secrets, so I can now make the perfect grilled cheese sandwich, too.

I am so glad that mom loved(s) to entertain guests for meals because it taught me how to do the same. I can see her writing her list of food and drink on the kitchen notepad, then checking off each item as she went. She could pull off a Sunday lunch flawlessly, every dish drawing a flurry of compliments from the guests.

Because of her, I know how to look at a cookbook recipe and add or omit or substitute ingredients and still make it turn out tasty. I can look at my available ingredients and make something up without a recipe. I'm not afraid to stick my hand inside a chicken. And I learned the brilliance of cooking up a storm of several meals, then freezing them for future use, especially in individual portion sizes since it's just me.

Some folks hate to cook, but maybe that's because no one ever taught them how. I'm glad my mom took the time to teach me. I like seeing her handwriting in my recipe box. And I think she likes it that I still call her for cooking consultations.