Sharp Tastes

I am beginning to add some posts that revolve around cooking.  Not that we consider ourselves foodies and are really good at what we prepare; but both Pat and I really enjoy cooking and it might be interesting for readers to see some of the recipes we have come to love.  We don’t typically experiment with exotic foods but do like a wide range of different foods.  We have always felt if there is a way we can learn to cook a healthy meal at home we can spend a bit more on the ingredients, spend time together cooking and get joy from the experience.

Pat comes from a large family with six children and as she was growing up there were always boarders in the house, so she was involved in the kitchen from a young age.  She learned a lot and enjoys many of the things her mother prepared for the family.  She is especially good at soups and cakes, but enjoys preparing a lot of the meals that were economical to prepare for a large group.  I come from a relatively small family with three children and my experience and love for cooking was developed watching how my mother prepared and served up a variety of meals based around meat, potatoes and vegetables, with a dessert of some sort at every meal.

Our parents grew up in an era where things were not wasted and you almost always cooked at home.  On the occasion when a meal was brought in from a restaurant as a treat it was likely either Chinese food or a couple of buckets of Kentucky Fried Chicken (white meat please), fries, gravy and Cole slaw.  That was when eating KFC was not considered a laxative.

I think most readers can relate to how their mother would have prepared pastry for fruit pies, meat and potato pies or desserts, and found thrifty ways to make an economical meal.  In Pat’s case there were often eight to ten people around the dinner table so there was a lot of commotion digging into the potatoes, meat and vegetables.  There was always a full loaf of bread piled high and already buttered to supplement the meal.  If there were leftovers they were put in the refrigerator for another meal or someone’s snack late at night.  With only three children, my mother always made just enough for everyone with no opportunity for seconds, and no leftovers.

I suppose this difference in cooking style is reflected in the fact Pat rarely if ever measures anything and readily substitutes something for something else if we don’t have it.  Her meals always turn out excellent however and other than her love of salt they are always tasty and nutritious.  I almost always follow a recipe as it is written and try to duplicate the ingredients to a T.  I can remember when I first met Pat I was always taken aback by the difference at meal time, as she was when we visited my parents house.  We still have lots of laughs at our different styles of cooking, but the end result is what is important.

We both developed a love for cooking, eating and the joy of sharing the days experiences with each other.  Throughout our lives with our two children we always made an attempt to eat at the dinner table as a family and enjoyed sharing those same experiences.  We are especially pleased to see this trait carried on with our children and their respective families.

So, this first entry will be finished off with a bit about how we start our day - a good cup of coffee.  Both Pat and I love coffee and always start our day with a strong cup fresh from the percolator.  We have tried drip, French press and the Keurig style, but really have not found anything that brings out the flavour quite like coffee that has been made with a percolator.

Our coffee is taken black with no sugar so we can taste the coffee.  We love a good strong dark roast and only ever have the one small pot each day.  It is a bit of a standing joke that Pat will not get out of bed until she smells the coffee.  That is true and fortunately for her I am up long enough before her I can get a fresh pot ready for when she drags herself out of bed.

We don’t have to search for coffee as our daughter and her husband own and operate a coffee house that roasts fresh beans on premises and has a wonderful assortment of popular fair trade coffee available.  We get our beans ground for a percolator and carry enough with us for the time we are travelling away from town.  Twiggs Coffee Roasters is a family owned and operated business in North Bay with franchise operations in Sturgeon Falls and Sudbury, all in the province of Ontario.  You can order beans or ground coffee on line and have it shipped to you if you like, or better yet, take a trip to North Bay and experience one of the stores and the warm ambience of a local coffee establishment.