Saturday 10 April 2010

Carried on someone's shoulders


A few years ago one Christmas I produced a book of family recipes just for members of our family. All my mother’s family can and do cook. No family gathering was complete without a discussion of the food and various recipes. The men were just as good as the women; it was a family passion.

Although Anna does not yet do as much cooking as the rest of us, when she does she is very good. Raymond joined in early on and although many men of his generation do not cook, he took to it very well and consequently enjoys and appreciates good cooking far more than he used to. He is also more critical of poor meals when we go out than years ago.

Jonathan has a real skill and verve and he is compiling a book of recipes of his own and those of his friends. He was showing me this weekend and this provoked my memory of the cookery book I made as he says how much he uses it and how his friends envy him. You see it isn’t just recipes but anecdotes about why and when these meals were made so it is a family history and I took pleasure in producing it and having it bound.

This weekend Jonathan is cooking for us. Raymond is having to do everything here at the moment since I am rather helpless. Sometimes it takes all the energy I can muster just to get up, bath and get dressed. As a consequence Jonathan thought it would be helpful if he cooked some meals and froze them for us. So sometimes it is good to be carried a little on someone else’s shoulders.

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