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My
Mama |
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My
Inspiration
How
my Mother was my culinary inspiration to cook and
entertain.
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Mama
married daddy when she was just fifteen years old. Daddy was
sixteen. I was born during the depression years, the baby, in a
family of eight children.
We
didn't have a lot of material things, but we had
plenty of love! Daddy worked day and night to make
sure we had enough food to eat, and shoes to wear.
When Mama wasn't sewing our home-made clothes, she was
in the kitchen, cooking.
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Mama's
days began at five o'clock in the morning. She always made a big
breakfast for daddy. Then, before all of the kids arose, she would
prepare a dessert for the evening meal. Oh, how I remember those
wonderful aromas! When awakened in the morning, it's amazing how
quickly a child can dress with the smell of hot apple dumplings
winding up the stairs!
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I
loved Mama's baking! Her apron would be powdered with flour,
as she
rolled her wonderful pie dough. I remember waiting patiently as she
placed the dough in the pie pans, filled them with apples from our
tree, and pinched the edges perfectly.
Mama
knew I loved cinnamon rolls. Never one to waste, she would roll out
the left over pieces of pie dough, dot with "Real" butter,
and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. She would let me roll up the
dough mixture, and curl it on a cookie sheet. Then, Mama would pop it
in the oven with the pies! When they were all done baking Mama and I
would share our special treat!
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Mama
canned fresh vegetables from the garden she and Daddy planted. Our
family never ate in a restaurant, and steak was non-existent at our
house. But, what Mama could do with a chicken or pot roast, uuummmm!
Sometimes,
as Mama sang and prepared the evening meal, the neighbor kids,
barefoot and dirty, would stand with their noses pressed to the screen
door. She knew they had no food, so she would throw in a few extra
potatoes, or add some cabbage to whatever she was cooking. There was
always room at our table for an extra chair.
Though
we were not rich, when company came, Mama prepared a meal fit for a
king! When our guests were ready to leave, she sent wax paper covered
leftovers home with them. Everyone loved her cooking!
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I
am very proud to say my Mama was my culinary inspiration, my mentor.
She didn't teach me where to sit each glass, place each fork, or
exactly how many teaspoons of vanilla to add. She taught me more!
I
learned from Mama that food is not only for the stomach, food is for
the soul. Whether cooking a meal for her children, family, friends, or
those in need, Mama prepared her food with "Love", and
served it with "Kindness". That's what made her meals so
memorable.
There
could be no better inspiration for any cook
than my Mama!
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This
essay was one of three winners in the Whirlpool Corporation world wide
employees "Inspired Chef Mother's Day" contest . Contest requirements were to tell how their mothers
were their culinary inspiration to cook and entertain. Each
submission was to include information about how their mother
inspired them to create memorable meals, and how she made
entertaining memorable.
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Copyright
2001©
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