Yesterday I woke up wanting to spend the entire day cooking in the kitchen. Some days are just like that. My husband was out of town on business and the house was quiet. It’s been either too hot or too rainy in the Chicago area lately, so staying inside sounded good. You would think with this hot weather, I would want to make something refreshing and cool. But it was not to be. Instead, I had a yen to make nothing but comfort foods. Not just any comfort foods, but fall and winter type of comfort foods. I have no idea why. I started out making the pumpkin muffins from Cafe Beaujolais, which are so wonderful and moist. Love them. I looked in the refrigerator and I had a large amount of chicken I needed to use. I couldn’t even remember why I bought so much. I decided on a slow cooker chicken cacciatore, chicken barley soup, and tetrazzini. That way, I could have aromas simmering away all day. While I am in the kitchen, I love to have either a foodie movie in the background or a cooking show turned on. I love anything with Julia Child on Create TV. I can watch her shows over and over, and always seem to learn something that I missed the last time I watched it; or maybe just laugh again at her “Julia-isms.” Today she had a guest host making puff pastry, which is no easy task. I started thinking about people who would love to learn to cook, but don’t know where to start. Not everyone had a parent or other relative who could teach them, or a million other reasons. I decided to go into my cellar to look around at my books to see how many easy instructive-type ones I had. I found these series of cooking magazines from the late ’70’s. They were called “McCall’s Cooking School,” of the well-known magazine.
These were great magazines, not only with beautiful photos of the finished product, but easy to follow step-by-step instructions. Of course, there are other ways to learn, such as television, instructional videos, and cooking schools. One reason why I love Julia so much is that she wanted everyone to learn, and it showed in her face. She had such a passion for food, and teaching everything about it. Also today, I happened to be wearing my favorite tee shirt that my daughter Kristina gave me. It says on the front in big letters:
What Would Julia Do? I love this shirt and I am going to have to order another one soon, as I am wearing this one out fast. I decided what Julia would do is to tell people to find any way you can to learn how to cook. Even if it’s just from a magazine.
No comments yet.