On 5/5/2013 3:12 PM, Tara wrote:
> Rhubarb always reminds me of Laura Ingalls forgetting to put sugar in the
> pie plant (rhubarb) pie:
>
> http://books.google.com/books?id=_Hq...=PA19&dq=laura
> +ingalls+pie+plant+first+four+years&source=bl&ots= X9jJVJiKhq&sig=TpJTd8-
> VLHz9MUXYUG_Edb0N3c0&hl=en&sa=X&ei=9K2GUafOMI6g8gS-
> zIHQBQ&ved=0CFgQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q&f=false
>
> http://tinyurl.com/bt8vwuz
>
> Tara
>
I never read those books. Being a teacher of younger folks I can
appreciate why you have.

Cooking that first meal without "Ma" around can certainly be traumatic.
When my mom went out of town to attend her father's funeral I was
stuck cooking dinner for my dad and one of my brothers. I did *not*
know how to cook. And Mom didn't *like* to cook so I didn't have much
to go on. I'd get home from school around 3:00 and start dinner.

I did just fine with creamed chicken spooned over drop biscuits (made
from Bisquik). Mom always called it "chicken on a biscuit." Then I
tried to broil some hamburgers (Mom always broiled them). Oh, sure,
they looked great! But they were completely raw in the middle. I was
mortified. They gamely tried to eat them, saying they were just fine.
No, they weren't. I like med-rare burgers but these were a far cry from
med-rare! I made them give them back and put them back under the
broiler. This time I realized I should have lowered the oven rack as
well as cook them longer. It was a confounding time, being thrown into
cooking without much more than a clue.

Jill