Cass Cooks, Too!

You know, there are many, many reasons to cook. The very least reason is because someone’s belly is hungry. Truly. They sell boxes of stuff at the grocery store that you just have to pop in the microwave and heat, and lo! behold! the belly fills. Shoot, the other day, I even saw cans of soup that heated when you opened them, no microwave needed. What’s the cooking in that? There isn’t any, that’s what.

I cook today because my Grandmother taught me to love to cook. You’ll notice I say Grandmother, because in truth, my mother hates to cook. For many years it was because she wasn’t very good at it, but now she is a good cook and she still doesn’t like to do it. It was my Grandmother who taught me to make biscuits from scratch. It was my Grandmother who taught me that fried chicken is done when it doesn’t sizzle up when you turn it over. It was my Grandmother who taught me that a cake is done when it starts to pull away from the sides of the pan. I’ve never ever been able to replicate her beef gravy, though.

The biggest thing she taught me is that you cook because you love people. And that is why my mother cooks, even though she hates it. She loves the people who eat with her. Every time I cook, I remember the lessons Grandmother taught me. I remember because each time I walk in my kitchen, I get a good visual reminder of them. I see her popcorn pot and her apron on top of my fridge. That’s her sifter and cracker tin, too.