GirlFriday
Enjoying the journey
My grandmother has, for my entire life, been the familiy chef. All of the holidays, big events, whathaveyou, we have gathered at Grandma's (two hours from my home) or even Aunt Sandy's (five minutes from my home) for family meals and Grandma cooked there. Everything. From scratch. I have even seen her start with cornmeal and make cornbread. From the time I was old enough to see the stove while standing on the stool, I was her helper. I cherish the time that we spent in the kitchen together, and in my teens and on, the time we spent planning and shopping for these events.
See, in my family, we do nothing without food. You can't walk into my grandmother's house without having food poked into your mouth. It is the way she was raised, and the way she raised my mother and her siblings, the way we were raised. (Not that I am blaming Grandma specifically for four people in my family having Bariatric surgery and another on that is scheduled for it in the near future, I am just saying "contributing factors" are "contribtuing factors".) You DID NOT LEAVE THE TABLE UNTIL YOUR PLATE WAS CLEAN. Wasting food was sin. A BIG SIN.
Now that Grandma is older, the torch has been passed and I am now the family cook. We still gather at her house, but I arrive early, sometimes a day early (this is easier now that she lives 15 minutes from me) and I cook and cook and cook and cook. EVERYTHING. FROM SCRATCH (except corn bread - screw that - Jiffy is delicious with a little doctoring).
This weekend we are celebrating Grandma's 90th birthday. Two weeks ago, I asked her what she wanted to do for her birthday, and she began rattling off a list of things that she wanted to have for dinner. A trip to the zoo, I suggested. Lunch at the fancy tea room you love so much? No! Family dinner. So, here I am 9 weeks out from a DS and I will be cooking this weekend for 26 people. I will be cooking French onion soup, stuffed mushrooms, spinach and artichoke dip, gougeres, cheese balls, bricked chicken, and a veggie tray. My grandmother has called me everyday for the past two weeks gving me tips and tricks and tweaking the menu. I am so happy that she is excited, but in the back of my mind, I keep thinking...how am I going to do this? How am I going to cope with this much food? Do I send it to the table underseasoned so I can sit down, too? Do I taste it and make it fabulous and then crawl into a bedroom to hide while they devour my meal?
I do not believe that I have ever, in my life, been this worried about a meal. I think that once I get the first big event meal done, I will be OK with it, but I am struggling with what to do and how to make it through one of these without consuming mass quantities of food. This is my first BIG CHALLENGE since my DS. I have to keep telling myself that once I start cooking, I won't want any of it anyway.
See, in my family, we do nothing without food. You can't walk into my grandmother's house without having food poked into your mouth. It is the way she was raised, and the way she raised my mother and her siblings, the way we were raised. (Not that I am blaming Grandma specifically for four people in my family having Bariatric surgery and another on that is scheduled for it in the near future, I am just saying "contributing factors" are "contribtuing factors".) You DID NOT LEAVE THE TABLE UNTIL YOUR PLATE WAS CLEAN. Wasting food was sin. A BIG SIN.
Now that Grandma is older, the torch has been passed and I am now the family cook. We still gather at her house, but I arrive early, sometimes a day early (this is easier now that she lives 15 minutes from me) and I cook and cook and cook and cook. EVERYTHING. FROM SCRATCH (except corn bread - screw that - Jiffy is delicious with a little doctoring).
This weekend we are celebrating Grandma's 90th birthday. Two weeks ago, I asked her what she wanted to do for her birthday, and she began rattling off a list of things that she wanted to have for dinner. A trip to the zoo, I suggested. Lunch at the fancy tea room you love so much? No! Family dinner. So, here I am 9 weeks out from a DS and I will be cooking this weekend for 26 people. I will be cooking French onion soup, stuffed mushrooms, spinach and artichoke dip, gougeres, cheese balls, bricked chicken, and a veggie tray. My grandmother has called me everyday for the past two weeks gving me tips and tricks and tweaking the menu. I am so happy that she is excited, but in the back of my mind, I keep thinking...how am I going to do this? How am I going to cope with this much food? Do I send it to the table underseasoned so I can sit down, too? Do I taste it and make it fabulous and then crawl into a bedroom to hide while they devour my meal?
I do not believe that I have ever, in my life, been this worried about a meal. I think that once I get the first big event meal done, I will be OK with it, but I am struggling with what to do and how to make it through one of these without consuming mass quantities of food. This is my first BIG CHALLENGE since my DS. I have to keep telling myself that once I start cooking, I won't want any of it anyway.
