Cooking

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At the risk of spoiling reading the “Play” chapter of my rememberables, I’ve included it here because it is one of my current hobbies, one which I delight to participate in with my family. I derive immense joy from cooking for others.

Aged about 9 my very dear grandmother Ethol asked me if I knew how to cook. Born in 1957 and raised accordingly, I was bemused by the question and I responded no because, to my mind, it was my mother’s job. Thankfully I didn’t actually say the last bit out loud. She said that it was about time I learned then.

I am grateful to this day for the enlightenment regarding not stereotyping human genders and the path that learning how to cook spaghetti bolognaise set me on.

My journey began slowly, emulating the bill of fare of my parents. Our current catalogue of recipes is incredibly diverse. There have been a plethora of sources, including my imagination, family, friends, magazines, online, TV and eating at restaurants. Currently, my wife and I have 480 recipes that we’ve liked and a further 22 to try.

One fabulous recipe that I acquired comes from a visit to Melbourne many years ago by my wife and I. By chance, we had dinner at a Korean cafe in St Kilda, called 2nd Episode. I ordered a Chicken Salad which was absolutely sublime.

After dinner I complimented the chef on the meal asked if I might have the recipe. The waiter responded that I could not as it was his mother’s family recipe. I explained with a smile that we were from Canberra and I promised not to tell anyone else and he smiled in return and confirmed; no. I asked if I could try and guess the sauce ingredients and he conceded that I was correct except for one secret ingredient.

I went home and approximated a Korean sauce from internet research which I think was close. A couple of years later we were in Melbourne again and we returned to 2nd Episode. We spoke to the same waiter and I mentioned how much I loved his mother’s chicken salad and that I had approximated it at home. He responded with a smile warmly and said, “yes I remember, you are sitting at the same table.”

I’m reluctant to publish my catalogue of recipes here as many of them are subject to copyright and I’m not sure how to observe that.

Suffice to say, my culinary adventure continues.

PS. I might just pop back to the “Play” chapter and make sure I mentioned all this stuff for continuity!