I have a really great mother-in-law. She's in her 80's now, and slowing down a bit, but she is still full of sage wisdom and great advice. Sometimes, though, I feel she's being a little judgmental - especially when it comes to my cooking.
If you've followed this psychology-meets-cooking blog, you've probably noticed I like to post recipes. Except I don't really follow specific recipes (and I'm saying this as someone who also religiously collects cookbooks and has a disorganized pile of handwritten "recipes from friends" and magazine clippings that might qualify me for my own episode of "Hoarders"). Sure, I'll use the occasional recipe, but I often deviate - adding thyme instead of rosemary, an extra pinch of salt, or even using pork instead of chicken. And even though my husband says he fell in love with me when I made him my meatloaf, I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I don't have a recipe for meatloaf and, in fact, in all the years we've been together I have never made the same meatloaf twice. This, by the way, drives my mother-in-law crazy.
You see, JoAn (that's my mother-in-law) was raised in a different world. Girls attended home economics classes and were taught to religiously follow recipes. They also raised their kids a lot differently than we do, too. They were much more strict, and things our kids are allowed to do these days would (and do) cause people of JoAn's generation much grief. And, for the most part, her generation raised some pretty great kids - all, I might add, without the overwhelming media influences we have today.
Which begs the question: is there a recipe for being the perfect parent? Did the older generation have it all figured out? Do children really learn better from a good lashing with the belt than with 4.5 minutes in a time-out chair? Is it more imperative for a father to be an authoritarian than to attend Boy Scout meetings with his son? Should we all move our children to farms to teach them what "real work" is? IF there was a recipe for perfect parenting, what would the ingredients be? I sure would like to know!
If you've followed this psychology-meets-cooking blog, you've probably noticed I like to post recipes. Except I don't really follow specific recipes (and I'm saying this as someone who also religiously collects cookbooks and has a disorganized pile of handwritten "recipes from friends" and magazine clippings that might qualify me for my own episode of "Hoarders"). Sure, I'll use the occasional recipe, but I often deviate - adding thyme instead of rosemary, an extra pinch of salt, or even using pork instead of chicken. And even though my husband says he fell in love with me when I made him my meatloaf, I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I don't have a recipe for meatloaf and, in fact, in all the years we've been together I have never made the same meatloaf twice. This, by the way, drives my mother-in-law crazy.
You see, JoAn (that's my mother-in-law) was raised in a different world. Girls attended home economics classes and were taught to religiously follow recipes. They also raised their kids a lot differently than we do, too. They were much more strict, and things our kids are allowed to do these days would (and do) cause people of JoAn's generation much grief. And, for the most part, her generation raised some pretty great kids - all, I might add, without the overwhelming media influences we have today.
Which begs the question: is there a recipe for being the perfect parent? Did the older generation have it all figured out? Do children really learn better from a good lashing with the belt than with 4.5 minutes in a time-out chair? Is it more imperative for a father to be an authoritarian than to attend Boy Scout meetings with his son? Should we all move our children to farms to teach them what "real work" is? IF there was a recipe for perfect parenting, what would the ingredients be? I sure would like to know!
This week's reading assignments have left me feeling a bit hopeless as a parent. I fear that, without even noticing, I have started to become one of those "parent-advocate" types described in the Hymowitz article. Is it too late to change what I've started? Can you change the recipe half way through the cooking process?
Grandma JoAn's Hamburger Soup
JoAn, my mother-in-law, follows recipes very carefully when she cooks anything. This is why her spaghetti sauce tastes the same today as it did when I first met her nearly 20 years ago. One of her most famous recipes is for Hamburger Soup, and I was honored when she shared it with me for a cookbook fundraiser I participated in a few years ago. Here, in her honor, I shall follow the recipe exactly.
Brown and drain one pound of ground beef.
Chop up the carrots, celery, and onions. 
The "secret" to the Hamburger Soup is the use of whole peppercorns. JoAn loves to warn people before they eat the soup..."watch out for those peppercorns"!
Saute the veggies in a big pot.
Add the browned/drained ground beef, a can of chopped tomatoes, and the spices and combine well.
Mix up your beef broth. I use "beef base" from Cash 'n Carry because I love the flavor. JoAn would use one of those cute little beef broth cubes that are wrapped in foil.
Add the broth to the beef/veggie mixture and bring to a boil.
Simmer for 30 minutes, then return to boil and add the pasta; cook 15 more minutes.
Yum yum!
ya know i think you can change the recipe half way thru, but i dont know if it will turn out how you want it too. i do not have children yet but just reading about parenting makes me not want them. okay that is not completely true, it just stresses me out more and more to have them. especially as time goes on and generation to generation i feel like we are all becoming more and more ignorant and more and more conformed to what the media says we should all be like, i do think we need to move our children to farms and show them what real life is like, maybe even for a week if that helps. my father builds houses for a living and even working with him for a summer helping him build a 3200 square foot house from the ground up made me realize what hard work really is and i think that this new generation of children is worried about the wrong things.
ReplyDeleteI think in today's society, people speak up a lot more about what THEY believe in. I grew up in a generation of parents that were parents didn't give you a "time-out" they gave you a spanking and boy would you listen!!! I give my kids a "time-out" and they laugh at me, I sometimes feel like kids don't learn from just a "time-out". I think parents of today are somewhat limited on what they can and can't do with their own children. They are in fear of being punished themselves, whereas parents of an older generation, didn't have the worries of today.
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