Legacy of Cooking

When I was three years old my mom stood me on a footstool next to her at the kitchen counter wrapped in a big apron and equipped with my own set of cooking utensils: bowls, spoons, rolling pin, cookie cutters, baking pans—all in miniature sizes. In the beginning it was mostly play—but in time I really learned to bake and cook. Granted, not everyone has such an opportunity but I believe that a generation or two ago, most people (girls at least) watched or helped as their mothers, grandmothers and aunts lovingly prepared food for the family.


We are all familiar with what happened to that somewhat idyllic scene—Mom went to work.

The large migration out of the home to the workplace was met with a barrage of convenience foods, TV dinners and fast food restaurants. At the same time, after school activities took the place of Mom at home after school and meetings and practices necessarily ran into the family dinner hour. Now, instead of a family sitting down together at the table for dinner, various meal times are required—and various grab-and-go foods are the norm.

Is it a stretch to imagine that the age of obesity coincided with this change? There is no doubt that the processing of many foods to make them convenient is worrisome for health and weight. Fast food, while fine on occasion, when eaten two or three or more times a week is very unhealthy. There must be and there is a better way.

I am not suggesting that all moms quit their jobs, but it is possible to cook good, old-fashioned, healthy meals while still working—and teach our children to cook at the same time. The first thing is to make home cooking a priority. I insisted on Wednesdays and Sundays as family dinner days. This was difficult at first as my school age boys were all in athletics, church activities and other functions. I made it mandatory but also special and it wasn’t long before those two nights were our favorites. It was during those years when my budget was small and I had three growing boys that I learned all the shortcuts and money-conscious tricks that I still use and write about today.

If you take a few hours to instruct kids on weekends on how to do some simple chores in the kitchen and, especially, add some fun baking skills in, kids will take pride in making meals for the whole family. Use these sessions to make foods ahead for the week—to plan (my kids loved to help with that because they wanted their favorite foods) and to prep food to the cooking point and then freeze it.

Cooking isn’t fun if you don’t know basic techniques—and I am surprised by the number of grown-ups who don’t have a mastery of simple techniques. You can cook almost anything if you know the basics—so I am planning to teach some courses for adults in basic cooking this winter—please look for a schedule on my website, www.beckyhomecky.com.

Lastly, the legacy of American home cooking is at stake. Cooking is love in so many ways: it is love of great recipes handed down over the generations; it is love of family (what other creative activity is met with so much enthusiasm?), it is a way to give to others in your distant family and your community, it is a love of good food and good health, and it is a love of your American heritage. Since we are a country of immigrants, all the ethnic recipes from our ancestors have morphed into American versions that are just as American as apple pie: spaghetti, pizza, lasagna, Chinese stir fry, chow mein, stuffed cabbage rolls, goulash, French bread, and the list goes on.

Here’s a dinner that can be made in about 15 minutes of kitchen time and 30 minutes more for cooking. I have made this for years and years and all my children make it in their homes—everyone loves it!

Lynette’s Goulash
Garlic bread
Green salad

Lynette’s Goulash

1 # lean ground beef
½ medium onion, chopped
1 14-oz can diced tomatoes
1 8-oz can tomato sauce
1 cup water
Salt and pepper
1 cup diced processed American cheese (such as Velveeta)
1 lb. elbow macaroni, cooked to al dente stage (about 6 minutes)

Brown meat and onion in large skillet. Drain fat. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, water and salt and pepper to taste. Cook on low until onion is tender. Add cheese and stir until melted. Drain macaroni and add to skillet; cover. Let sit off heat for 15 minutes. Serve.

This is my last column for the Republican Eagle. I have enjoyed every minute of writing and will continue to write a weekly article on my blog: www.btkd-lynette.blogspot.com. If you love cooking as I do, please join me there.