Diary part 4

A weird thing happened on the way to Mother's Day. I'm turning into someone else's mother. "Aren't you having any potato salad?" "Oh no, had mine earlier, tasting you know, just to see if it was all right." "You sound just like my mother." I have not met this woman! Truly something to wonder about about ...

I am now at the age when children would be calling home for recipes. However, I knew a looong time ago I wasn't the motherly type - more to the point I wasn't about to set myself up for paybacks on some of the stuff I pulled - and I was the good kid - really. It does tickle me when when I get a note from someone just starting out. Where was I when I needed me?

Appropriately enough for Mother's Day, I got as close to the baby thing as I ever intend to again. Take this as a warning if somebody chooses you as recipient of a bread starter dough kit. Mine arrived by way of a friend of a friend. The quest for new victims of this type of chain can get out of hand even in a place as big as Houston. Had the first friend known me better, she would have known better. There it was though, just like a baby in a basket on a doorstep, couldn't be ignored, complete with a very tasty sample. OK, fine, I'll play along. It sat there innocently enough the first day - the instructions even said DO NOTHING. That was the end of peace as I knew it. The thing had a life of its own. Squeeze the bag, add this, let the air out - even had to burp it a couple of times in the middle of the night.

THE day arrived. That was irritating in itself - had to be tended to NOW or suffer unknown consequences. I will spare you the details, suffice to say the whole project more than lived up to mess expectations. I am proud to say I did my part to end the madness. My "little gifts" went out the door with a new set of instructions (here's what's really going to happen) and permission to pitch.

Two commercials running right now come to mind. The one with the mom who wants to stay outside to play a little longer is cute - "All the other moms are ..." because they are planning take-out. I recommend chicken, Chinese, pizza, whatever all week long so you'll have the strength to protect your kitchen (and digestive system) against well-meaning kids and dad-types trying to "help." The one about cinnamon rolls - "Remember mom's?" "What, my mother was an investment banker (or something like that)." - is ... sorreeee ... insulting. Certain professions bar us from the kitchen? I don't think so. Either one is born domestically inclined or we learn to fake it after playing the office game and/or fighting the freeway freaks. Know that you can always come here for a break. And thanks to all of you who took the time to write.

Dang that Hillary though - I invited her to stop by more than a week ago! I loathe politics but it occurred to me the White House should be notified the revolution was under way. Should you care to share your thoughts, My Virtual Reference Desk - A One-Stop Site has the White House link and what seems like every other link imaginable.

Recipe and otherwise notable links: Dayle's Incredible Links; Gina's Kitchen (includes chocolate words of wisdom); Jenifer9's Place; Granny's Place; ANGELBABY: SEEK AND YE SHALL FIND (finding lost relatives, etc. - Jan has become a special angel to me - I'm still sorting thru the list of links she sent); The Comedy Zone (I made THE list) and now I'm a good people (see below).

Hint from Sherise - "I have come to the conclusion, after cooking many meals for my family (in the last 12 years) that a few reliable spices are worth more in the kitchen than gold. I constantly depend on garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, mrs. dash, and for an extra kick..some hot sauce. I use many other spices but these are my favorites and cover just about every meal you can think of, even most soups."

From Lois - some 'Net Abbreviations I'll probably be using. (Update: includes some from other readers and a few of mine.)

Don't forget to send your two cents worth - especially motherisms. I Love E-Mail

I cooked exactly one "real" meal this week, the oat chops back on the first page of the diary with boxed au gratin potatoes. Open a can of veggies and/or salad from a bag - you're in business. I did have some leftover tortillas from the chicken thing last week that made some interesting sloppy jo-ritos (I made that up, see what you can get away with). Try it with a mix or canned sloppy joe stuff. It's not hard to make your own either using whatever seasonings sound good (see Sherise above) and ketchup. Pile on the cheese, nuke for a few seconds - done deal.

Sloppys generally benefit from onion in some form. A few weeks ago I found a diagram How to Chop an onion in four easy steps. The onion I used was huge, I suspect the results would be better with several smaller. However, the minced, dried form still is the easiest way to go when flavor, not texture is important.

Don't forget to write and please tell me where you found me.