I’m just a mum standing in a kitchen wondering what to cook
I am a typical home cook. I open the fridge and the cupboard, and I make the best meal I can with the ingredients I have available. This “skill” is something I learnt from my mother who cooked meal after meal after meal for her family for many years and I never saw her reading a recipe book to do so! We always sat around a table to eat our dinners and it was a guaranteed time that we were all together. This time around a table I think is such as important time for a family and is something I strive to do everyday for as many meals of the day as I can. To make the time together ever more special, I like to set the table with care, light some candles and play some music. It is the small things that make the difference and eating at candlelight (even when forced to during a power outage) does make the meal feel a little bit special.
Nowadays it is my father who you will find in the kitchen. My dad loves his cookbooks and there is usually at least one next to his chair, but he does it all from making his own knives to brewing his own beer. You never know what you will get at a family lunch, but you know it will be delicious and something new. Nothing is too big of a challenge for him, and neither are the quantities, so we usually walk away with a little bounty of homemade goodness. My most recent gifts include homemade Gherkins and Piccalilli.
My parents’ skills and passion for good food have been passed down to their three kids. My older brother loves to make his own charcuterie and biltong in his US kitchen and my younger brother has found a real passion for Iranian food and he is the resident pizza maker. Good food and drink are the foundation to so many life events and memories. To this day people still talk to me about the food and drink at our wedding and of course we used to family talents at this event. My mum made the most beautiful fruit cake as our wedding cake which we froze the top layer of for our son’s first birthday (and it was still delicious) and my dad brewed beers and a cider which we customised with our own labels. This tradition continued at my brothers’ weddings and at the parties since. Our wine rack has a collection of memories in the form of custom beer bottles and our photo albums contain the beautiful images of the cakes.
Preparing food and enjoying that food is a family affair. Recently my son has taken to being DJ while we cook dinner. We have a tablet in the kitchen, and he loves finding a music video to play and dance to. This extra bit of energy in the kitchen really makes cooking a joy. I chop and he boogies on around me. Even when not invited to partake in the cooking process he runs into the kitchen to be DJ. The current playlist includes Backstreet Boys, the Ghostbusters soundtrack, and Panic at the Disco – for him it is all about dancing and “cool” music videos. It might not be my playlist, but I love dancing to the cheesy tunes and hopefully these moments will make lasting memories for us all. I am sure that my three-month-old is sitting in her highchair watching all of us and judging our pathetic dancing and awful singing 😊
My favourite things to cook are quick and simple, family friendly meals. I love to feed my family healthy, tasty foods and enjoy the challenge of creating a new family favourite with new flavours and ingredients. It seems to have been the trick in raising a little one who likes a variety of foods, flavours, and textures. It is a challenge to take something that your child turned their nose up at and make it into something they love. Seasoning, fresh herbs and spices and a little creativity can really take you far. And when I don’t have the time or energy to be creative, I have a couple of tricks up my sleeve.
Baking is another love I have. It feels like a real treat to have a baked goodie in the house to have as a treat with tea or after a meal. A jar of biscuits on the counter or a Sunday breakfast of scones is another way I show my love to my family. My kids’ birthday parties are one of my favourite times of the year as I get to dive deep into my creativity and theme it out! We spend hours in the kitchen preparing for these little parties and I take every opportunity to learn from my mum. She has made so many magical birthday cakes for us and I want to give my children the same.
I love being creative and I show my family love by providing them with delicious food. It is a family affair and one I hope to pass down to the next generation. Here I hope to share some of my favourite recipes and food stories. It is another way that good food and drink can bring people together!
Yours in getting stuck in,
Jamie
