Cooking with My Mom
My Wife Wendy's Lovely Tribute to Mothers Everywhere
Though this is two days late, I must share Wendy’s beautiful tribute to her late mom, Jan. It’s generated a lovely buzz. The cookies, by the way, are hers.
Enjoy!
THIS IS MY second Mother’s Day without my mother. She left this world on November 1, 2024. All Souls’ Day, which seems perfect for her. She was a very deep soul and loved by so many people.
My best memories of her are related to cooking, for she was an excellent cook. Unlike my grandmother, who was a wiz at make pie (and taught me), my mother could whip a dinner from just about anything. She loved Julia Child’s cooking show and her cookbook. She would pick out a recipe to try but always tweaked it a bit to her taste. Most often she would just wing it with whatever ingredients she had on hand. These were some of the best dinners. My father often joked that I needed to follow her in the kitchen with a notebook and write down what she did. When my mom went back to work full time, my sisters and I were drafted to assist with dinners. I would do a dessert or vegetable, My sister Karen was in charge of salad, and my youngest sister Amy was in charge of setting the table. We needed to have all the ingredients ready for mom to cook when she walked in. She would put on her apron, pour a glass of wine and begin chopping whatever was going into dinner that night. She was an excellent chopper. She told me that she found it very therapeutic.
When I moved home from college, I became her sous chef. I followed her in the kitchen, cleaning up dishes and pots, putting away spices and other ingredients. We would chat about our day and then sit down to one of her creations. Dad would ask, “How did you make this?”
As expected, she would answer, “I’m not really sure.” Then my dad would look at me and say, “I told you to carry a notebook.” One of her favorite recipes was Chicken Parisian. She had cut the recipe out of the New York Times magazine. I still have that recipe that I took from her recipe book. I think it was based on a Julia Childs recipe. While I learned the art of pie dough from my grandmother, I learned the art of creative cooking from my mom. During holidays, and when she came to live with us, she was always in charge of chopping all the vegetables. We would sit there like the old days, having wine and talking about life. Those talks in the kitchen over cooking are some of my most cherished memories.
My sisters, left to right, Karen, Amy and me…with the family chef
THIS MOTHER”S DAY, we are celebrating my step-daughter Magggie’s first mother’s day as well. Our granddaughter June Sinclair Prescott, was born just before Christmas. Her mom is also is what I like to call a creative cook. She can make a fabulous salad out of whatever she has in her refrigerator. I’ve watched her whip up a dinner that is so delicious, beautiful, and creative. I know my mom would love her cooking style. IN the meantime, Maggie is teaching her little one “June Bug” the joy of eating food. In June’s fourth month of life she has discovered sweet potatoes and her mom encourages her to enjoy the taste and texture of each new food.
Maggie and June
To all the mothers out there – Happy Mother’s Day! May the memories of our moms sustain us. Below is a copy of the Chicken Parisian recipe from so long ago….
