Women Belong In the Kitchen! (or do they?)

Growing up various members of my family (mostly women) insisted that I needed to learn how to cook. Of course, it's the woman's responsibility to cook in a family. I was a girl (someday woman) ipso facto I had to be able to cook. The fact that my own mother didn't know how to cook when she got married didn't seem to matter. The fact that I grew up in a house with no mother and a father (man) who cooked also didn't matter.

Now, I'm no fool in the kitchen. I can do basic cooking. I know how to boil water, scramble eggs, make grilled cheese sandwiches, brown meat, etc etc. I am a master of cans and boxes, I have yet to find one that stumps me. I'm not sure if those rudimentary skills were what they were talking about, but at least I wasn't going to starve.

Lucky for me I grew up in a household where every penny counted so I was used to simple fare. In fact, I mostly preferred it. Fancy restaurants could suck it, give me Kraft Mac and Cheese (Kraft Dinner for my Canadian readers) any day! Therefore, my style of cooking  was just fine, in fact, it suited me. But a culinary queen I would never be.

But God was looking out for me and my future children. He knew how much I love to eat and saw fit to give me a mate that would feed that hunger, and feed it well. My husband is a fantastic cook chef, and actually loves doing it (in your face voices from the past!). Sometimes I beg him for simple fare and he looks at me with a "Girl Please!" look. He just can't leave well enough alone, always adding this and that to his food, experimenting like a good cook chef should.  I've always said that he's the dreamer in our relationship and I'm the rule follower. That's what makes him a good chef, and me a semi-good baker. Because with cooking, you shouldn't follow the rules and with baking you must. Don't we just make the perfect couple!?

Thanksgiving 2011 where he did most of the cooking. Hunky, no!?

The fact that he does most of the cooking means that I have the freedom of putting Bonnie to bed without having to worry about how I'm also going to get dinner on the table, he's got it covered. However, because of Bonnie, I've also started getting the culinary bug. I'm cool with Johnathan being the master purveyor of foods, but I also want to at least dabble a little. I want my children to be able to say, "My mom makes the best ______." Heck, I thought my Dad had invented Italian Chicken until I moved out into the real world and realized it's pretty common. But that doesn't change the fact that it was some darn good chicken!

Since Bonnie was born I've started my dabbling, to bake/make some things that are tasty treats. They're not something you'd make all the time, because they're certainly not good for you, but I'll have the lock down on tasty treats in this family! Also, they aren't that hard to make, because I do have a skill limit and I'm very aware of that. Oh and don't you worry your little heads about Grandma, I've given her pies and cobblers because she's great at it and I have no interest.

Below are some of my dabbles, underlined because these are what's going in the blank above:

Pumpkin Pie- I've been making this for years and it's the only pie I'll make, in deference to Grandma (or Grammy, or YaYa, we're not really sure what to call her yet).

Has a secret ingredient, and oh so tasty

Mascarpone-Stuffed French Toast with Salted Caramel-Banana Sauce

Butterscotch Scones

Chocolate Gravy- Because a childhood friend's mother always made this for us when I visited and who doesn't want to be the bomb diggity Mom who hops your children's friends up on sugar for breakfast and then sends them home to their mothers!?

Parmesan Risotto