Kitchen Lessons from My Mom
March is the month of my mother’s birthday (the 16th, to be exact). She’s been gone 20 years now and I still get so lonely for her. The other day I was in the cosmetics area of Walmart and from the other side of the aisle where I was standing, came a whiff of AquaNet Hairspray. Mom wore AquaNet and that aroma took me back…bringing up so many memories that I burst into tears. Lots of you can relate, I bet.
Anyway, I was thinking about her today as I was preparing my articles for Cook’n and started remembering the many things she taught me about kitchen work. I thought I’d pass some on to you—not that you don’t already know these things, but just as a reminder of our moms and the legacy they leave.
First, she made sure my sister and I understood it was a privilege to work in her kitchen—not an unalienable right. And we could earn that privilege by always cleaning up after ourselves. The psychology is clever, don’t you think? Instead of growing up seeing kitchen work, and the cooking and baking that goes along with it, as a drudge, she created this mystique and allure that just drew us in. You can bet we cleaned up after ourselves—we wanted that privilege. And funny thing, we’re still cleaning up after ourselves to this day!
Mom was careful about cleanliness. She kept a spray bottle of diluted bleach water around to disinfect counters, the stove top, the sink, etc. She changed the sponges and dish rags every day. And she was always on me for tossing the dish towel over my shoulder when I was drying dishes. “Dish towels shouldn’t be close to anyone’s hair!”
Like her sister, Aunt Annie, that you’ve hear so much about, mom loved to feed people and set an abundant table. We never worried that we might not get all the mashed potatoes we wanted, or if the gravy was going to run out. Her motto was “better too much than not enough—that sends a message of stinginess, after all!”
Speaking of gravy, I never made much of a point to learn to make it. She was the “Mother Superior of All Things Gravy,” and we made sure she knew it. So even after I left home and was cooking for my own family, when it was gravy-making time, I’d call her for the recipe and her how-tos. I think this tickled her a lot.
Here’s one of mom’s favorite gravy recipes. There were lots of times she didn’t pan drippings to rely on, so she devised a just-as-good-as-drippings gravy to compensate.
1/4 cup unsalted butter cut into 4 pieces
1/2 cup diced onions
2 tablespoons OR Wondra flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup broth or any flavor
1 tablespoon
Directions:
Add Recipe to Cook'n
Mom also believed the kitchen wasn’t really clean until the floor was swept. Didn’t matter how much homework we had, or what appointment we needed to run to, we could always take two minutes and quickly sweep the floor. She didn’t like work building up—she always told us it was easier to do a little now, than have to do a LOT later.
There are many many more things mom taught me, but I’ll conclude with this last thought. My parents had terrible financial struggles when my sister and I were in little girls. After raising my own family, I now realize there were some nights she must have had a tough time coming up with a meal. I remember suppers of bread topped with a white gravy. But she was always positive and enthused as we sat down to eat together. Her philosophy was, “Food tastes better made with butter and love,” and in our home she brought both to the table!
(If you have a minute, tell us something YOUR mother taught you! We’d love to hear about it.)
Anyway, I was thinking about her today as I was preparing my articles for Cook’n and started remembering the many things she taught me about kitchen work. I thought I’d pass some on to you—not that you don’t already know these things, but just as a reminder of our moms and the legacy they leave.
First, she made sure my sister and I understood it was a privilege to work in her kitchen—not an unalienable right. And we could earn that privilege by always cleaning up after ourselves. The psychology is clever, don’t you think? Instead of growing up seeing kitchen work, and the cooking and baking that goes along with it, as a drudge, she created this mystique and allure that just drew us in. You can bet we cleaned up after ourselves—we wanted that privilege. And funny thing, we’re still cleaning up after ourselves to this day!
Mom was careful about cleanliness. She kept a spray bottle of diluted bleach water around to disinfect counters, the stove top, the sink, etc. She changed the sponges and dish rags every day. And she was always on me for tossing the dish towel over my shoulder when I was drying dishes. “Dish towels shouldn’t be close to anyone’s hair!”
Like her sister, Aunt Annie, that you’ve hear so much about, mom loved to feed people and set an abundant table. We never worried that we might not get all the mashed potatoes we wanted, or if the gravy was going to run out. Her motto was “better too much than not enough—that sends a message of stinginess, after all!”
Speaking of gravy, I never made much of a point to learn to make it. She was the “Mother Superior of All Things Gravy,” and we made sure she knew it. So even after I left home and was cooking for my own family, when it was gravy-making time, I’d call her for the recipe and her how-tos. I think this tickled her a lot.
Here’s one of mom’s favorite gravy recipes. There were lots of times she didn’t pan drippings to rely on, so she devised a just-as-good-as-drippings gravy to compensate.
Just-As-Good-As-Drippings Gravy
Ingredients:
1/4 cup unsalted butter cut into 4 pieces
1/2 cup diced onions
2 tablespoons OR Wondra flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup broth or any flavor
1 tablespoon
Directions:
1. In a medium sauce pan, melt the butter.
2. Once hot, add the onion and a big pinch of salt and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. If you want dark chicken gravy, continue cooking the onion until caramelized.
3. Stir in the flour and and salt and cook for 1 minute.
4. Slowly whisk in the broth/stock and cook until thickened, about 3-5 minutes.
5. Remove from the heat and whisk in the milk. Serve while hot.*
NOTES: You can make this ahead of time since no meat drippings are needed. It will gel up in the fridge, so when you are ready to serve, heat it back up in a sauce pan and whisk until smooth and hot. You may need to add more broth/stock to thin it out.
2. Once hot, add the onion and a big pinch of salt and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. If you want dark chicken gravy, continue cooking the onion until caramelized.
3. Stir in the flour and and salt and cook for 1 minute.
4. Slowly whisk in the broth/stock and cook until thickened, about 3-5 minutes.
5. Remove from the heat and whisk in the milk. Serve while hot.*
NOTES: You can make this ahead of time since no meat drippings are needed. It will gel up in the fridge, so when you are ready to serve, heat it back up in a sauce pan and whisk until smooth and hot. You may need to add more broth/stock to thin it out.
Recipe formatted with the Cook'n Recipe Software from DVO Enterprises.
Mom also believed the kitchen wasn’t really clean until the floor was swept. Didn’t matter how much homework we had, or what appointment we needed to run to, we could always take two minutes and quickly sweep the floor. She didn’t like work building up—she always told us it was easier to do a little now, than have to do a LOT later.
There are many many more things mom taught me, but I’ll conclude with this last thought. My parents had terrible financial struggles when my sister and I were in little girls. After raising my own family, I now realize there were some nights she must have had a tough time coming up with a meal. I remember suppers of bread topped with a white gravy. But she was always positive and enthused as we sat down to eat together. Her philosophy was, “Food tastes better made with butter and love,” and in our home she brought both to the table!
(If you have a minute, tell us something YOUR mother taught you! We’d love to hear about it.)
Sources:
- www.pinterest.com
- www.lifesavvy.com
- www.cookingwithcurls.com
- www.bhg.com
- www.homemadeinthekitchen.com
Alice Osborne
Weekly Newsletter Contributor since 2006
Email the author! alice@dvo.com
