Daily writing prompt

What foods would you like to make?

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I was going to say, the foods from my childhood as a response to what I would like to make but we ate beef six days a week so no. Because we were farmers and raised our own cows, some to breed and sell and others for meat, we ate meat and specifically beef continuously. To say my dad is a meat and potatoes kind of guy is an understatement.

My younger sister still lives in the country and has a large garden, she texted me yesterday to say she would save me some beet leaves that she will freeze and I can have to make beet leaf buns with. So that’s very exciting. They are one of mine and my kids’ faves. Also, a food from my childhood.

I would like to master pie crust. Pies themselves are easy peasy when you are buying the frozen pie crust and just filling it. Which, I am embarrassed to say, is what I do. The last time I tried and failed at pie crust was about five years ago. I got so frustrated when I took the pie crust from the oven and it had shrank so significantly when I baked it that it wasn’t large enough to hold the filling. Waste of time and money and so disappointing.

Another favourite meal I haven’t made in a while is schnitzel (pork) accompanied by spaetzle. My gramma was German so she may have made this, I don’t remember but I ate it often, the summer I was sixteen and worked in the kitchen of a Bavarian restaurant. Each night after the big dinner rush was over and we were winding down with the cleanup, our boss Charlie would serve each employee this meal. It was amazingly delicious.

I took pictures of everything and everyone that summer and though I didn’t realize at the time how remarkable Charlie was, I see it now. Besides being very handsome, he was strict and sometimes scary in the kitchen but he also knew how to laugh and tell jokes. I see now why he took the food being served so seriously, his livelihood depended on the reputation of the meals.

Each night after he fed us all, he loaded up my bike in the hatchback of his Civic and gave me a ride home, back to my aunt’s house. Such a good guy, Charlie. My aunt and I would say his name back and forth that summer pretending our German accents, Chaw-lee.