Mom: The Heart and Soul of My Cooking

While I can point to things like my personal chef certification back in 2006, and many years of trial and error, the true teacher behind my ability to cook well was my mother. Prior to me leaving home for good in 1991, she sat me down and had me write a list of four dishes she wanted me to know.

In this list, she said, I would eventually see a myriad of techniques that I would eventually master if I learned to cook these dishes well. Only in hindsight, after cooking for at least ten years from that point, did I truly believe I understood what she meant.

The four dishes? A scrambled egg, pinto beans, Spanish rice and baked chicken.

With the scrambled egg she taught me the interplay between food and heat. Too high a heat and the egg can scorch, two low a heat and the egg will not cook through. There's a perfect sweet spot at a low medium flame where an egg scrambles perfectly without a lot of effort. She taught me not to swirl while scrambling. Instead she taught me the technique of folding the egg into itself so as not to dry out the final result. She also taught me the concept of carryover cooking. Just when you think your eggs are short of being done, remove them from the heat and fold a couple of more times, using only the residual heat of the egg to finish the cooking.

With the rice she taught me the importance of ratios. 2 water to 1 rice being the formula for rice dishes. Since it's spanish rice there's also the element of using peppers amd onion to flavor the final result. With the beans came her lessons on cleaning the beans, soaking them and preparing them long before the heat ever touches the pot.

Finally, who doesn't like the smell and taste of baked chicken!  The techniques learned here served me well as I could translate those techniques into other skills. The time and temperature, marinating, the importance of whether it's skin on or skin off (Always use skin on and bone in).

I'll never say that you'll find these moments in any cooking school or book. What I will say is that these four lessons shaped my perception and reality of what food truly is about to me.

So remember, recipes are guides. Learn a few things then try something different. Explore and be curious and it will get you great results. As for me? I add the ingredient that Mom left me an abundance of. Love. I cook in her memory, to honor her legacy and to feed the souls of those I meet.

All that's left is remembering that you should eat with a passion, cook with your heart and remember...

Food Is Love...