My father was a cook and at one time, a restaurateur, so men in our family are able to cook. Nowadays, I do much more cooking than I ever did in the past. Much of the cooking has been enjoyable, but three meals a day can be challenging! The hardest part, as many family cooks know, is not the actual cooking but deciding what to cook.
My small repertoire of recipes was not sufficient for the new situation. Fortunately, there are cookbooks galore available and magazines full of colorful, but often impractical concoctions. Do I really need a recipe for Egyptian-style squid? I am convinced that any recipe known to humankind is now available online. I have found scores of them including ingredients, directions, techniques, and even nutritional information for many of the recipes. I have even found some of the favorites that Grandma used to make. There are even recipes from different eras. I have some nostalgic feelings for the 50’s and 60’s recipes of my youth. Apparently many of those recipes spread across the country through newspapers, magazines, and word of mouth.
So, I have a new hobby. When there is nothing good on TV and I’m tired of reading, I check out new and old recipes until I’m certain that I desperately need a snack. Among the finds were non-recipe recipes like: “Recipe for a Good Marriage” or “Recipe for a Happy Life.” Too bad none of those were as easy as stirring up a pot of chili!!