Inspired to cook by our mums
As we begin to celebrate the life of Nancy Sanders (Wendy’s Mum) and look at how she influenced all her children as well as the rest of us, it’s a happy coincidence that today America celebrates Mother’s Day.
Food brings us together
Nancy was a wonderful mother who was legendary for her Sunday Roast and rightly so - they were fantastic. Not merely for the countless types of vegetable she put out, but for the atmosphere she generated at the table. Her roasts gathered people together in a way which nothing else could.
This got me thinking about how mothers – or mother figures – and food are such a powerful force in our lives. It’s probably fair to say that if it wasn’t for Wendy’s mums’ dinners, there probably wouldn’t have been a Bartlett Mitchell. Wendy’s love of great food was inspired by Nancy’s cooking.
Warm memories- as delicious as the food itself
I thought I’d share 3 of my earliest food memories and ask you to tell me about your memories of food and family.
My first one was of our farmhouse table at home. I can see it now, a Saturday afternoon (baking day) and the kitchen table covered in breads, cakes and pies, sweet and savoury, ready for the week. Any of you with Irish roots will know of seedy cake, lethal to children but adored by the older generation! This baking was consumed during the week and never made it to the end of the week as I recall.
My second food memory was almost a religious ceremony; Scragg making! I can picture to this day the making of this neck end of lamb stew. It started with boiling the neck on a Friday. It was left to stand overnight and the following day the fat was removed from the top of the pot and my Gran, mother and aunt would diligently pick the meat off the bones before turning this 2 day stew into a deliciously sweet lamb dish topped with dumplings.
The final memory is a funny one. My Dad, after Sunday Mass, would go to the pub for a pint before lunch along with some of the other family menfolk. My memory is of hearing giggling outside the kitchen door and his flat cap being thrown into the kitchen. If my mum was cross with his time keeping, his hat would go flying back out!!
What this proves is that food leaves an indelible mark in our memories and on our lives.
What about you? What are your first motherhood and food memories?
Food memories ... I remember eating well, hating onions in all shapes and forms - only still getting over it now!
ReplyDeleteLoved:
spaghetti, tune & thick cheese sauce
fliegende jacob (Swedish I think) - a scrummy mix of leeks, chicken, peanuts, cream, chilli & paprika with bananas
wiener schintzel (gosh you can tell I grew up in Germany)
Hated:
Onions, baked beans, turkey & leek bake ikikik.
In complete contrast to memories of mums' cooking - I think I learnt to cook because my mother was the original 'Can't cook, won't cook'! Thus I started baking at the age of about 8 - my first triumph was a group of rather lopsided coconut pyramids.My sister and I then started a small cottage industry of makaing fudge, toffee and fairy cakes which she sold at the back of the tuck shop at school. We did a roaring trade! As the younger of the 2, I'm not sure that I got a fair share of the profits - we all know maths isn't my strongest point! The one and only meal my mother can makae is a roast dinner - and as she doesn't know what a blog is, I know she will never know that I have agreed with DJ - and if she did, I'm sure wouldn't argue -that Nancy's roast dinners were best. I was lucky enough to sample a couple of Nancy's roast dinners and they were indeed unrivalled - even if I did have to fight Wendy for the extra stuffing!
ReplyDeleteSo it is true.....mum's really do influence our cooking and eating habaits one way or the other!
I think Alison would agree we have a similar experience to June. Our lovely Mum bless her, admits she can not cook but always trys.
ReplyDeleteThree of her daughters ended up training as chefs.
I have memories of cooking Sunday breakfast. Coming from such a large family, most things were done on a rota basis including cooking breakfast. We had a rota on a Sunday morning, in which two of the children would get up early and cook a full English for the rest of the family. I am sure this was great training for cooking for large numbers and getting the timings right.
I use to also love making cakes on a Sunday afternoon which were consummed by the mob at teatime
Mums cooking did improve over the years when she discovered the dairy cook books, she did some really nice dishes from these books. I know the books are rather old hat but have some simple tasty dishes
ReplyDeleteWell georgie I now know where you get your love of systems and procedures. Even less than grate cooks and their food inspire memories as your example shows. I bet they were great cooked breakfasts!
ReplyDeleteCooking brings us all together... family, friends... both old and new!
ReplyDelete