On 5/31/2011 7:12 PM, Terry Pulliam Burd wrote:
> My dear, my mother. God rest her, used to *revel* in her "lousy cook"
> status. She used to say she could "burn water and overcook air." She
> only ever had 3 reliable meals that would allow the family to approach
> the table with confidence: pot roast, fried chicken and a Mexican
> dinner (she was born and raised on the Mexican border in AZ and
> learned the art from my grandmother's cook). Everything else was off
> the back of a box or the label of a can. We lived in dread of Lent,
> when her green turn casserole became a weekly offering, and upon
> entering the house and sniffing liver, you'd want to run for your
> life. You could beat someone to death with her liver dinner.
>
> And we all remarked upon her miserable cooking efforts with great
> fondness and we remark upon it still...and would give anything to once
> again be faced with that damned green tuna casserole.
>
> So, Rusty, the teller of the tale may mean in jest and fondness what
> the hearer of the tale interprets as an unkindness.
>
> Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd
>
> --
>
> To reply, remove "spambot" and replace it with "cox"

My mom was a lousy cook too. Her style was poor-folk island plantation
cooking. No matter, I spent a lot of time learning to cook/bake and I
can't remember her ever telling me to get out of her kitchen. When I got
older, I did much of the cooking for the family. This is still true today.

We did spend time together preparing and baking fruit cake a couple of
months before Christmas and that was one of the few holiday traditions
our family had. Now that I think about it, those were pretty special
times. There's not really too many activities that a son and mother can
do together. Not like a mother and daughter anyway.

I never much was a fan for the finished cake but still, was pleasantly
surprised when my auntie gave me a fruitcake using her recipe a couple
of years ago and again this last Christmas. I guess some people thought
it was a fine holiday tradition too.

If she had been a better cook, I wouldn't be as confident a cook as I am
today. She must have felt some pride when her sisters would fuss over my
cooking skills. In the end, everything worked out just fine.