Cooking

Yellow and green

Curled

Floating

Needles

Pond

Reflect

Today we had a stormy day, which turned into hard rain at night. I managed to go for a walk before it rained, though.

Yesterday I wrote some words about cooking, and was asked to tell some more about the macaroni sauce. So here goes, about a subject I know almost nothing about.

But first: let me know if you have some such recipes of your own. Easy ones, I mean, such ones that don't require more than what is absolutely needed to get food on the table.

Anyway, back to the macaroni sauce. The best way to have it taste good are hungry children. I have often heard claims about the huge appetites of teenage sons, who empty the fridge in a moment. Well, the same seems to apply to daughters.

Another good source for a good appetite is spending long hours outside playing with friends in nearby fields and parks. After that food just disappears!

About the macaroni sauce I really can't say much, expect that the recipe evolves, and depends on what is available. Onions, that is of course needed, and some ground beef or such, and oil. If there are paprikas or tomatoes in the fridge, they can be used. And ketchup.

As a detail, we buy paprika powder in 0.5 kg packages ("industrial size"). And powdered cayenne pepper, that is a necessity!

As to how much and what, I can't really say, it depends. I never measure by spoons etc., which occasionally can produce surprises. And yes, another thing: we don't put salt into food at home, there is too much of it already in various things such as factory-made bread.

I hope I didn't spoil your appetite with this. And if you are still interested in what skills I have, I can tell about changing diapers. That is a skill I have practiced a lot.

Anyway, writing about food reminded me of an essay I read some time ago. I think it was in an essay collection by various writers, and written by a "food columnist" for The New York Times. She wrote a sort of culinary memoir about her childhood. Their grandma was living with them, and taking care of their eating, very strictly. She insisted on serving lettuce with a horrible dressing.

As an adult the columnist finally realized what the recipe was: her grandmother had taken the recipe out of an old cookbook, but as she was very stingy, left out all the "expensive" ingredients such as eggs and sugar. The essay contained the grandmother's salad dressing recipe, published for "the only and final time".

Does anyone happen to know who was the writer of this essay?