skybluepink

i realized the other day that my mil has no idea how to cook. no idea whatsoever. hubby grew up eating normal foods, i guess, but never had to try anything new or different. his parents also rarely entertain. if they do, it's for a holiday, with pretty much only family, where there is a traditional preset holiday menu, like goose for christmas and ham for easter or something like that. and the side dishes are very normal, like salad out of a bag, rolls heated in the oven and some green beans. the dessert is usually either lemon bars or lemon curd, the two things his mom knows how to make. she's also made angel's food cake and that came out all right. otherwise she goes to a bakery and picks up something. pretty much everything we've had there has been grilled; the steak, salmon, sausage. but she will make the most outrageous appetizers, that while they turn out tasty, she acts like the are the most disgusting thing ever and becomes the biggest martyr because they do not look exactly like some photo in some upscale cook book. like we need to feel sorry for her or something. nice try, lady.

but it really took me to realize that until this past weekend. she made us a 'cake' to take to the cabin with all the strawberries we have harvested from our garden. i say 'cake' in quotes because it in no way resembled a cake. it was more of a pie, but a sad pie. (i swear i saw a tear slide down the side of the crust.) it had a graham cracker crust that was filled with lemon curd and topped with strawberries. and the strawberries weren't even sliced. only the stems had been removed and then they were plopped on top. she had also claimed there is no recipe for strawberry pie out there. wtf? my mom made me strawberry pie practically every year for my birthday. even i know how to make a strawberry pie.

i then thought about other times with his folks. they never have food in their fridge because they 'don't really cook'. good thing the recently did a massive remodel of their entire kitchen. sure, she can make fried green tomatoes, but what about a normal dinner? what about meatloaf or a casserole? god forbid someone asks for a grilled cheese sandwich and mac n cheese! and she hardly has any ingredients on hand. i don't know why it took me so long to figure out. no wonder hubby has an aversion to eating at the dinner table. he never grew up doing that. that is just not right.

don't get me wrong, i don't think i should be making full on meals each night, but i have definitely upped my effort in the kitchen since this weekend. even when we have fend-for-yourself-nights, i want to make sure we actually have something good to fend for rather than just cheese, crackers, cereal and celery. tonight i made a chicken casserole, which was delicious. and now there's enough left over to feast on for a few days, which is good because hubby takes his lunch to work with him. tomorrow i'm going to make cookies. i buy them all the time, but since i have some extra time these days, i figure i should actually do some stuff in the kitchen so as not to forget how. i'm going to make heath bar cookies. mmmm. maybe i'll call miss fleurs and see if she will be in town tomorrow so i can share them with her. i just sent her the cutest harajuku lovers outfit (gwen stefani designs for children...both miss fleurs and i heart gwen) for her little girl that will be arriving in october. :) but anyhow, i digress.

i cannot believe it took me so long to realize that my mil is not the kitchen lady she proclaims she is with her fancy kitchen, cookbooks and appliances. i guess the fact that when they remodeled, they put in the 'art wall' i should have figured it out. i guess i genuinely thought she did stuff with her beloved kitchen. more than put together the occasional salad, appetizer and lemon curd. oh, and she loves making cookies she buys at costco. yes, i agree it is easy to make cookies with the ready made stuff, but it's also fun to make stuff from scratch.

but then again, this is the same lady who has NO IDEA how to pump her own gas for her car.