Mike and I have more or less adjusted to the return to standard time, but Bess doesn’t get it. “Why can’t I have my supper now?” she whines. “Why are you making me wait?”
What about you? Have you adjusted, or are you whining?
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| The Family Home, 1959 |
My mother followed a recipe with great care. For example, a cup of sugar or flour was carefully leveled off with a straight edge. She showed me that certain knives and spoon handles are curved and therefore must not be used to level a measuring cup. “Just a teaspoon one way or the other will make a difference in your end product,” she said.
Mother had taken “home ec” in high school, and she said that as the girls – all home ec students were girls in the 1920s – followed the same recipe, no two came out alike. Mother saw this as an indication that better care should be taken in measuring. If the recipe is the same, the results should be the same.
Mother was an excellent cook. Sauces and gravies were smooth, meat was tender and tasty, and pies were her specialty. My dad lauded her flaky pie crusts. When Daddy mentioned Mother’s flaky crusts to his sister Myrtle, she exclaimed, “But Dorothy puts her hand in it!” Apparently, Myrtle disapproved of that practice, but Mother said the heat from one’s hand was important in mixing the crust.
Since Mother preferred to control the end result, she didn't allow me free rein in her kitchen, and in later years, she felt guilty for my lack of training. Frankly, I didn’t feel that way. When I had my own place, I discovered that I liked to cook, and it never occurred to me that I didn’t know how. To my way of thinking, Mother taught me to follow a recipe and measure with care. What else did I need to know?
I
don’t watch cooking shows much, but now that I have an “Echo Show” in my
kitchen window, I will occasionally ask Alexa to show me a recipe, and I have
been amazed as the baking gurus throw ingredients into the bowl. “We need a
cup of flour,” she says, scraping the excess flour off the cup with her hand
and leaving it anything but smooth. “Add a tablespoon of peanut butter,” she
says, as she scrapes a heaping tablespoon from the jar. And yet, her end product
appears to be fine.
Well, I believe you can go wrong with the measurements, but I also think that when it comes right down to it, there is margin for error. You just may not be able to totally duplicate your end result another time. KW
Oh, and I'll be lucky to get my oven to do the same thing twice. I recently modified a mini-muffin recipe for Silas. I was so pleased that I actually WROTE IT DOWN and put it in the recipe box. Fingers crossed for the next time!
ReplyDeleteGood for you, Hallie! I hope your oven cooperates.
ReplyDeleteGrandma must have taught my Mom how to make pie crust. She could whip up a delicious pie in no time. I never could seem to master the same talent.
ReplyDeleteBecky, I actually edited this post to shorten it a bit and removed a comment about your mom (Harriet) and pie crusts. Harriet told me that our mother didn't teach her to make a pie crust either -- that your other grandma (her mother-in-law) taught her after she was married. Obviously, she learned well. I wonder if she worked the dough with her hand.
ReplyDeleteAfter I was married and still struggling with pie crusts, Mother suggested that I practice with boxed pie crust mixes. I still do that. And I still can't roll it into an even round or crimp it beautifully. In fact, I have taken to folding the dough over the top of the pie and calling it a crostata.
I will say, though, that even when I made pies from scratch, one of the boys said that they were still better than store-bought.
Thanks for the comment, Becky.
I wondered if Grandma Reece probably was the one that taught Mom. She taught her many things on being a farm wife. And yes she worked the dough with her hands.
ReplyDeleteNo,I am not used to the time change. However, when I get used to it, I wish they would leave it on Standard Time and not mess with changing it twice a year.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your further comment, Becky. I'm sure Harriet was an apt and made the most of her training.
ReplyDeleteAnd Chuck, I guess you're whining with Bess. The dark, cold months are difficult.
I'm not a very adventuresome cook so I'm always careful to measure. I made my own pie crust for many, many years but finally I decided to buy the red box and I've not been sorry. Makes my pie making much less stressful!
ReplyDeleteAnd time change? Why don't they just change it by 1/2 hour and leave it alone. Seems like it would be the best. I don't have trouble with the fall time change (love that extra hour!), but the spring one leaves me tired for at least a week.
Oh! I admire your sense of adventure in the kitchen, Chris. After all, you tackle bread and experiment with gadgets. You are my "go to" for kitchen info.
ReplyDeleteMy last pie crust was tough. "It's hard to cut the crust," says Mike. Ironically, it was the easy to roll. Well, it was too much water or over-working.
We won't be able to solve the time change on our own. We need help that we probably won't get.