Wednesday, October 12, 2011

When and how did I learn to cook?

As I do the final glaze for my latticed tart for dessert after dinner tonight, I am struck at how far I have come as a cook.

Really sometimes, I surprise myself ! As I admire the pretty decent pie on the table, I am reminded of an earlier post that I had made on my now neglected food blog.

Growing up with boys around you and having family friends who mainly had boys for children, kind of leaves you unprepared for existence as a woman! And more than that I think it leaves your parents unprepared for how to deal with a girl who behaves and acts like a boy! :-)

Luckily I had very indulgent parents. My memories of my childhood are coloured with bike rides, cricket matches, football practices and swimming… an amused mother who would sometimes admonish me about not having any womanly grace and an indulgent dad who encouraged and sided with me no matter what! My only concession to my sex was wearing skirts / frocks / dresses that my mom lovingly bought and I regularly tore! I suspect that some of it has still stayed with me and to this day, while I am a far cry from the tomboy I was, I am way way off anything feminine!

With all this baggage I got married, luckily to the man who I loved, and, who mercifully fell in love with me.. otherwise the torture his poor stomach has had to go through in the first few years of marriage, the marriage would have had slim chances of surviving! Anyone who is married to a foodie, and, that too a foodie whose mother is a fabulous cook, will understand why! Though I suspect it helped a bit, that he taught me how to cook!

I remember the first meal I ever cooked – a dal and some rice. I just knew that my mom used lentils, cumin, tumeric, salt and water to make dal, so I just threw them into the pot and hoped, miraculously it would all come together. Needless to say it did not, but R was sweet enough or newly married enough  to gulp a few spoons down!!

My journey from there to this pie has been long, ardrous but thorougly enjoyable! From a person who couldn’t make out spinach from any other leafy vegetables, I can, today wax eloquent about a ballotine of chicken, butter squash mezzlune, pansoti, a chocolate mousse cake et al.. and through all of this R has braved stomach aches, cramps, burned and charred dishes, food that tasted like newspaper or ditchwater and has bravely dared where no man in my life has been before – down my culinary path!

1 comment:

  1. simply amazing... I also provide food deals in dubai, and gonna launch my friend's restaurant too in dubai internet city.. :)

    ReplyDelete