WE are a mother daughter team that live together. After we tally up spouses, other children, etc. our family count comes out to eight (15 if you count the dogs, cat, turtle, and fish). As a large family living together, we get along rather well. We all enjoy each other's company, and seem to balance each other out in a surprising way. This is not to insinuate that we never have disagreements, we do, but we always have a way of muddling through.
Melissa's Point of View:
I moved into my mom's (Leona) house, through an extended family necessity, about four months ago. Since then, I have recognised a kind of synergy in the kitchen. This was surprising to me! I have always wanted to have someone in the kitchen hanging out with me, or even helping with some of the meal preparation. I am still learning how to delegate and ask for help (I don't always recognise the opportunity) but am learning to get there.
Before moving back in with my mom, I had tended to stay away from most traditional American food. I grew up with these things and and know them well. I am always wanting to try new things, and am propelled to do so since I am allergic to milk and most traditional American fair has butter, milk, cheese, etc that I can no longer eat. My struggle to find flavourful food (you know the kind that doesn't make me feel like I am missing out on an entire food group) has made me quite adventurous in the kitchen. I try just about any recipe that is non dairy, can be tweaked to be non dairy, or just sounds cool. I have had a lot of flops, but found some pretty amazing dishes, flavour enhancing techniques, and people along the way.
My mom is a lover of anything gravy, add bread to the mix and you got the starter for any favorite dish. I tend to stay away from gravies (they just aren't the same with out some kind of milk) but have been known to answer those pleading puppy-dog eyes with an occasional gravy attempt. I think I tend to frustrate her because I like to have a recipe that I can replicate. I am always on the look out for a new favorite dish, and when I find that dish I want to be able to make if perfect every time! She has been teaching me the joys of just throwing stuff in a pot and knowing that it will most likely seem like it is on purpose.
She may not realise it, but my Mom is the one who inspired me to be more exacting when making a dish. If I had a dime for every time she said, "Oh my gosh! I made the best (insert anything here). It was soooooo good. I'll never be able to make it that good again!", I'd have a lot of dimes. I have come to believe this is a missed opportunity. I believe that the flavors a cook creates in the kitchen is a way that a person passes on a piece of themselves for future generations to enjoy and remember. Recipes like grandma's Chocolate Gravy (yes this secret family recipe exists) or aunt Alma's Sweet Potatoes are how generations from the past communicate with ones in the future. I want to pass on some of my family's recipes to my children and maybe even sneak in a few of my own.
So I guess you can say my mom inspires me to be more spontaneous in the kitchen and that it is sometimes ok to just throw in a bunch of unknowns into a pot, hope for the best, and enjoy a meal that may only shine for one night, but oh! so bright!! Oh yeah, she's also the funny one. :)
Leona's Point of View:
My daughter and her family moved into my house about 4 months ago, it has been the most awesome 4 months EVER!!! My older son and his wife had just moved out and I was sad. You see, I am not fond of being an empty nester....I can just hear the big DUH from those who actually know me...plus I have the room and a big heart. Not to mention I now have a 23/6 live-in
I consider her dairy allergy as a bonus for me, I am let's just say "the overs", over weight, over eater with the eyes and mouth, over caring what food group I put in said mouth, over kill, over ....I think you get the big picture...so how do I find this as a bonus for me you ask? Well, we have to figure out how to dairy-free recipes which means less calories for me. I have been using the weigh watchers points plus system which works and pairing the two together is...just...an added bonus for me. Actually it hasn't been that hard I still find ways to get my gravy fix, just not as often. Yes, I am a gravy girl I love gravy on everything except juice...oh wait a minute, silly me they call that soup.
My daughter is a joy to share a kitchen with she brings a different outlook on the day to day food. She will search the Internet for days for that perfect recipe for us to try. I will say that our cooking methods are different ME I'm the let's try this spice and that spice and gee this might be good in that and SHE is the I want to try the recipe as it stands then next time do the tweeking let's rein in my mom kinda girl. Ya she does rein my creativity in a bit, but I'm thinking sometimes I probably need it. Then there are those days where I just sit back and think to myself ....yep I should have put this and that in there when she wasn't looking cause this is tasting kinda like dish water.This, I would say, is a LIH (laugh in head) moment.
Some days we are so on it that it is scary how nutritious and yummy tasting our dinner taste, at least to us anyway. Then there are those days that even the dogs won't eat it, you know I am talking about the neighbors' dogs cause ours will eat even the most vile of experiments. I must say for the record that we do have other members in our household who seem to think they have an opinion as to what they eat ...silly them if they won't eat it out right we'll find a way to sneak it in their food anyway. Of course this is strictly under the premise of "it is for their own good". What can I say, I love my family.
Well enough of being serious now let the fun begin.
What will each of us bring to the table besides our plate?
Melissa will bring a refined palette, innovative ideas, dairy free, balance and other stuff I just can't think of right now.
Leona will bring years of successful home cooking experienceand know how, an awsome sence of humor and enthusiasm, a love of good food, a willingness to laugh, and the honesty to share an opinion that you can trust.
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