20160223 (cooking)

Moms (dads, too) should teach their sons to cook. I know I would have been better for it.

In many ways I wish I had learned

To cook from my mom. She was 

To my mind a fairly good cook

When she could muster the 

Enthusiasm. When she didn’t have

The joy for cooking you might

Be in for spaghetti with blueberry

Muffins. Hey, it might not sound

Like much but compared to 

Pouring a bowl of Cheerios

For supper it was nourishing. She

Did some things really well—

Potato pancakes (latkes) just

Nowhere near often enough.

Another was pierogis filled 

With cabbage and sauerkraut.

I didn’t go for many of the ethnic

Foods but those two ranked really

High on my favorites’ list. Mom’s

Pierogis easily put to shame the

Crap people buy from supermarkets

Today, and the ones from specialty

Shops can cost five bucks each for

The size my mom made. Granted

She was no model for healthy

Eating (I did eat my green

Vegetables), but the family fare

Was heavy on carbs and comfort

Food. Lots of it was fried but

That came with the age. Still,

Even if it had categorized me 

As a sissy boy I would learn

From her had I another shot at

It. Hell, even Boy Scouts, those

Miniature manly men, were expected

To know how to cook something

Other than blackened bacon,

Cold oatmeal, and hot chocolate. It 

Wouldn’t  have hurt me with girls

Either. I can hear them coo even

Today—“He can cook, too!” as

They’d look forward to a kitchen-

Duty free life. But it was not to be.

I would only occasionally help

In the kitchen when Jean and I

Raised the family—nowhere

Near enough as I should have.

In our first week back from the

Honeymoon she rose early

To fix me breakfast and I said

“Dear, I can make my own 

Breakfast,” seeking to let her

Off from at least part of the 

Cooking. But it sounded more

Like, “I can make a better meal

Than this,” to which she replied

“OK, babes, you got it,” and 

Promptly returned to bed. I was

No feminist-minded husband at

The time. I got what I deserved.

It was years before she made 

Breakfast for the whole family

And that was only on holidays.

Today I restocked my larder.

The fridge was so full I thought

To cook some of the volume

Down. Chopped up veggies and

Fruits for a pita mixture, boiled

Eggs and made tuna fish salad

For sandwiches, and stuck a 

Chicken in a pot for soup. For

Some reason I enjoyed the work,

The smells, the oven’s warmth.

And I thought about my mom

For the first time in a long time

And felt good about knowing her,

Wishing I had known her better.

Our cooking together could have

Done that.

c. J.S.Manista, 2016