I am a really good cook. Most folk who cook well seldom like to acknowledge it--not me... I am a kitchen artist! It's not that I've never made a cooking faux pas, I have just never served the mistake, thus, in my mind, I am perfect....
Given my self-ordained perfection, one might wonder what this tale entails--well, it's about what my family asserts is my problem. Often, I cook only one food--over, and over, and over... This quirky foible holds true today, but it all began when I was in 8th grade....
I am the oldest of four. My mother--Mother Dear--was always adamant that I was responsible for taking care of my siblings. Therefore, she made sure that if something happened to her, I was capable of doing everything to take care of my siblings. At the top of the list was cooking. I began helping my mother in the kitchen when I was in 5th grade, so by the time that I was in 8th grade, I could prepare almost anything for dinner that my mother did.
My 8th grade year was the year that my mother was finishing her Master's degree. Even given the demands of teaching fulltime, my mother was never absent from our daily lives. We did our chores, but she never expected us to do more because she worked and attended school. Still, with even the best plans, there comes a point when there is simply not enough time to accomplish everything that one might wish in a day. The break point for my mother came at the end of the spring semester. My mother had one test and her thesis project left to complete with three days to do everything. On Wednesday before the Friday that she would finish, she talked with me.
"Bille!"
"Yes, Mother Dear! I'm coming."
I ran from my bedroom to the family room, which is in the front of the house. My mother was sitting in her customary place on the end of the sofa.
"Bille, for the next three nights I'm going to need your help." My mother looked at me intently as she spoke.
"Yes. Of course, Mother Dear."
"For the next three nights I have to concentrate on completing the final work for my degree. I have to go to the campus library after school for the next three days. Do you think that you could prepare something for dinner the next three nights?"
As I listened to my mother my heart started pumping really fast. I had never prepared dinner alone before. I knew how important getting her Master's degree was to my mother and I wanted to do anything that would help her.
"I can cook, Mother Dear. Don't worry about us. We'll be fine."
I said this with an assurance that I didn't feel. Although I always thought that I could prepare dinner myself, I had never had to prove it. But, I would worry about it tomorrow. At that moment, I simply needed to allay any fears that my mother had about leaving dinner to me. Although she had just said that she needed help, I could tell by the slight frown on her forehead that she was worried. Because she asked me to cook, I knew that she really needed the extra time; hence, I wanted her to take it.
"Ok Bille, dinner will be your job for the next few days--I know that you'll do just fine" my mother said as she smiled at me.
As I listened and watched my mother, I let out the breath that I didn't even realize that I was holding. Her smile let me know that she trusted that I could and would take care of dinner for her--I would not let her down.
The next day at school I could barely concentrate. All I could think about was the endless dinner possibilities. For once, I would get to choose dinner. Although I typically helped with dinner every day, if I didn't know what we were preparing, my mother would never tell me. In fact, I learned not to ask because her answer to my query of "What's for dinner?" was always the same--"Hog ass and cornbread". There would be no hog ass on that day!
Typically, we had three things at dinner--some kind of meat, rice, and some vegetable. Although the meat and the vegetable changed, we almost always had rice. So, I thought, "I'll prepare rice and pork-n-beans and pork chops.... Yeap, that would be great! I love pork chops and pork-n-beans are my favorite." Then I remembered that although my sister Dayson who is eleven months younger than me, would eat pork-n-beans, she really didn't like them. I didn't want to prepare anything that my siblings didn't want to eat. The house rule was that if one didn't want what was being prepared for dinner, then there would be no snacking or eating until the next meal, no matter when the next meal. We all knew the rule and we knew not to waste time whining about what we did or didn't want to eat. My siblings would know that this rule held true even in my mother's absence. Still, I wanted everyone to like dinner. Dayson loves cream style corn, but I hated it so I was definitely not going to prepare that. So, all day as I tried to concentrate on algebra and Louisiana history among other courses, I thought about what I would prepare. As I moved from class to class I continued to think about what to prepare for dinner. Then as I sat in my 7th period class, it came to me. Although my mother always cooked three things, it didn't mean that I had to.... So, what could I prepare that my 3 year old sister, Sassy, my 8 year old brother, and Dayson, my 12 year sister would eat with no complaints? I knew what to prepare. Dinner would be easy and nutritious and good!
Because my mother was always adamant that my siblings listen to me, that they understand that when she was away, I was in charge, the next three days passed with no incident. After I finished preparing our meal we all sat down together and everyone ate all of their dinner. The only slight hitch was that Friday, we all had to walk to the grocery before I cooked because cooking so much meant we ran out, but it was a fun walk with no incident. I was pleased to help my mother and my siblings all seemed to enjoy dinner--or at least no one complained, so I was happy.
My mother finished her work on Friday, so Saturday afternoon marked a return to my mother's cooking. Like always, I chopped seasoning vegetables--white onions, shallots, green bell pepper, garlic, and celery--as my mother stirred the makings of a roux. I had just finished chopping everything and was about to dump everything in the pot as my mother directed when my brother ran into the house from outside.
"Hey, Mother Dear!" he said as he hugged her around her waist.
"Hi, Man. Did you have fun outside? Are you hungry?" My mother asked as she returned my little brother's hug.
"Yes, Mother Dear, I had fun outside."
"Well go and wash your hands and then sit down and cool off a bit. Dinner won't be long" my mother said.
My little brother looked at my mother then said, "I'll wash my hands, but I don't want any dinner, I"ll wait for breakfast tomorrow."
Given that dinner was the last meal of the day, my brother knew that he would have to wait for breakfast if he didn't want to eat dinner--according to the house rule. Nevertheless, my mother looked at my brother in consternation. "Emile III (pronounced, Emile the third), why wouldn't you want dinner?"
Emile III looked at me and sighed. "I don't know, Mother Dear, I just don't want any more French Fries", my brother said.
"What are you talking about? What did you have for dinner yesterday?"
"French fries."
"What did you have with the French fries, Man?" my mother asked.
"Kool-Aid."
"No, Emile III, what did you have with the French fries? Did you have hot dogs, or hamburgers or sausage?"
"No, Mother Dear", my little brother said shaking his head negatively, "we didn't have any of that stuff."
"What did you have for dinner the other nights that I wasn't at home?"
"French fries and Kool-Aid, Mother Dear. My brother said this with a big smile. And, I ate all of my dinner every night too Mother Dear, but I just don't want any more French fries right now, so I'll wait and have waffles for breakfast tomorrow."
"Don't worry Man", my mother said to my brother. "We're having your favorite, speghetti and meatballs."
"Really?!"
"Yes, Man. Now go and wash your hands."
When my brother left the room, my mother looked at me shaking her head. "Bille did you only cook French fries every night?"
"Yes, Mother Dear. We all like French fries." I said.
"Every night?! With nothing else?!"
"Yes, Mother Dear, but I made sure that everyone had enough. You always say that it's important that we all eat enough vegetables. So, I thought that surely we'd get enough if we all ate potatoes every night. And you know how much Sassy loves French fries."
"Well, what did Dayson, say to French fries every night?" My mother asked this as she looked at me shaking her head.
"Uhmm, she didn't say anything Mother Dear. She just ate dinner." I wasn't quite sure why mother would think that Dayson might not want French fries; we all love them.
As I looked at my mother she just started to laugh and laugh. I wasn't quite sure why she was laughing, but I started to laugh too. My mother though, removed the pot of roux from the fire and sat down in a chair at the kitchen table and laughed until tears rolled down her cheeks. When she finally stopped laughing, she got up from the table and hugged me.
"Bille, she said, I really appreciate your taking care of your siblings. I'm glad that everyone ate all of their dinner. Still, maybe in the future--if you are preparing dinner--you might consider green leafy vegetables--you know, a small tossed salad, maybe--and protein of some sort.... And, maybe not the same thing every night." My mother said with a smile.
"Ok, Mother Dear."
Later as we all ate dinner, my mother asked my siblings why they hadn't suggested that I cook something different. They all looked at her and said, "Because we like French fries!--just not as much as Bille!"
I wish that I could say that the French fry incident was the last time that I only cooked one thing over and over and over, but well, it isn't. But the French fries are simply the first and most notorious time. Now, if I volunteer to prepare dinner, everyone wants to know what I will cook in addition to the French fries. I just smile and I say: "I cooked French fries for three days, but you all ate them!"
We all laugh and sometimes my youngest sister, Sassy can't help noting, "Your French fries are always the best Bille--you can fry potatoes for me whenever you want!"
Hope
Let me tell you...Cal would have been right at home during those nights of french fries for dinner. Take a little time to thank Hope for sending a ramble. We love reading these stories and it would be great to let these brave souls know that you like them too.
A wee bit of hype before I let you get to tonight's updates. Jo Dunning aka Lessa has a nifty new web site. Check it out if you get a chance: homepages.paradise.net.nz/dragonsi/lessa/index.html.
Tamara
- BtVS
- The Early Days: After Adam Chapter 2 by Eli (Extra Flamey).
- Chapter 6 of All That We see or Seem... by FrikkinWiccan (Extra Flamey).
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- Chapter 5 of Space Quest by Chris Cook (Through the Looking Glass).
Original - Chapter 7 of Nwyn by PsiDraconis (Academy of Bards).
Wonder Woman - Brave New World by D (Academy of Bards).
- Brave New World by D (The Athenaeum).
Xena Warrior Princess - Parts 19-22 (Conclusion) of Desolation by MJB (The Sandbox 101).
- The Treasure of the Amazons by DJ Belt (The Sandbox 101).
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