by Deborah Rogers –
I learned to cook at my mother’s elbow, watching her pare the skin from a cooking apple in one long peel and slicing it straight into the dish for an apple crumble to eat after a Sunday roast. She seemed to know how to make anything, measuring by eye, using the ingredients she had at hand, including the fruit and vegetables from our garden. But my mum is interested in food too: adventurous, ambitious and likely to be inspired by cookery books, travel or replicating a dish she’s experienced at someone else’s table.
Along with my dark hair and freckles, I’ve inherited this from her. Of course it’s not genetic to be able to cook, or be interested in food. It’s a learned behaviour that requires practise, access to ingredients and equipment, and time. I’ve definitely put in my time. It would be impossible to estimate the number of hours I’ve spent chopping, sautéing, stirring and whisking. And cleaning up of course: there’s always dishes to do.
I have a shelf of cookbooks with splattered pages and cracked spines where they’ve been wedged open on the counter. I have a binder filled with recipes pulled from magazines too, including many past Seaside Magazine triumphs (thanks Joan). Even when I rarely refer back to them, preferring my mum’s method of guestimation and improvisation, I like to keep them as a source of inspiration.
Tonight I didn’t cook. I’ve passed the torch to the next generation. Watching my kids prepare dinner – chopping, grating, frying, adding seasoning and fresh herbs – I’m proud to know that they have learnt from example. Dinner was great and I restrained myself from offering any advice. There were still dishes to do.
Cooking has always been a source of happiness for me, a way of reconnecting with the comfort of childhood, and a way to take care of myself and my family. I really hope this September’s foodie issue provides some inspiration in your kitchen. I hope too that you have the opportunity to share your skills, special recipes and culinary sources of joy with others.
Photo by Janis Jean. Clothing provided and styled by Moden Boutique.
Shot on location at Port Sidney.
