What did we do before Rotisserie Chicken was available in every grocery store? It's just the two of us now, but I take advantage of almost all of the convenience foods available. I do prepare what I consider "Home Cooked Meals," but the definition of "Home Cooked" has changed somewhat. Mom's and Grandma's everywhere are not in front of the stove cooking these days. Many have jobs, some are off leading exciting lives, and some never did stand in front of a stove and make a meatloaf.My mother and Grandmother were wonderful cooks who never knew the dangers of fat or sodium or any of the other things that Dr. Oz warns us about! They basted a roasting bird to a rich brown, then used the drippings to make gravy! Grandma's fried chicken rivaled the best KFC, seasoned to perfection. She started her recipe by soaking the chicken pieces in a brine the night before in the fridge. The meal was a feast with buttery mashed potatoes, green beans cooked down with bacon, hot biscuits and ALWAYS pie or cake. Today, Home Cooking means we buy the leanest cut of meat available, season sparingly and use fat-free stock to make gravy...if we even serve gravy! We season with herbs to make up for the missing flavor of fat and salt, but it's just not the same.
Sometimes I just get a hankering for Grandma's cooking. Maybe it wasn't the rich food as much as the comfort of loved ones around the table...
You are making me hungry! To me home cooking means comfort, love, and yes, the responsibility of cooking life giving, healthy foods for our families.
ReplyDeleteNow...pass the pie.
It was the idea of sitting around the table with loved ones... but it was also the fattening food!
ReplyDeleteMy mom is 73 years old and she still cooks the old way and always will,loved it growing up,but that was all we knew...now I really cook the healthy way,and yes I do go to my moms and have some of her fatty cooking,but it is a combination of being with family and the home cooking,you see my mom and dad have 15 children so there is a lot of family to be around that big ole table..and the 15 of us have the same mom and dad...thanks for sharing...
ReplyDeleteI have a secret to share with you. We as yet have no health problems that require abstinence from any foods, so once every two weeks or so we throw caution to wind and eat anything - and I mean anything - we like. It actually helps us stick to a "healthy" diet plan.
ReplyDeleteI'M THINK MAYBE MOM'S AND GRANDMA'S WAYS WERE OK...SEEMS THERES A LOT MORE FAT PEOPLE TODAY THAN THEN! SOMETHINGS WRONG FOR SURE! COME SAY HI :D
ReplyDeleteYes, Life and food was different wasn't it?
ReplyDeleteLOved the post about the little dog named 'Honey'.
The latest thing I heard was, its okay to eat an egg a day, now! The government health reports change as fast as we change our socks! Never used to be an egg limit, then they said no more than 2 eggs a week, and now - an egg a day keeps the doctor away! There's probably nothing wrong with any of the old style of cooking - we will find this out in another report coming out in 10 more years!
ReplyDeleteIt was Rotisserie chicken for us tonight - but we were all around the table. And, I did make homemade mashed potatoes.
ReplyDeleteI've been out of town and just got home from LA - but it's funny you mentioned the chicken - my grandson just said tonight that he wanted one of those! Weird huh?
ReplyDeleteSandie
It's the family dinner. They used to be on Sunday. Today it has changed. Basketball games are held on Sunday!
ReplyDeleteI've always been a cheerleader for family dinners. The food does not matter since it is the gathering that gets to the heart. Nella