My Pops was never particularly known for his culinary attributes- his domain is on the other end of the band-saw or sander. All the while he has always attempted to keep a few main-stay and go-to recipes in his tool belt for the now and again get together.
Being that his prowess is not in the kitchen- there have been comical events transpired with him at the helm of that particular mast. One of these particular mishaps is of constant reminiscing with me and the rest of my brood of sibs. I was around 10 years old at this time- I'm the oldest so that means there were four more youngsters running around cascading down in age from me- and my Dad was trying to play the part of Mr. Mom- while our Mom was getting her Masters Degree. That meant a lot of evenings where he tried his wiles at the range-the oven range that is. The most memorable dish that was bore out of these evenings was- "porcupine meatballs"-which are meatballs made with rice as part of the filling. The recipe did not mention that the rice needed to be cooked first-and being a novice cook- he didn't think to cook the rice first. I can still see all of us five kids and our Dad gathered around the oak table and chairs that he made for our dining room crunching through those hunks of ground meat- baring our sheepish eyes to meet our Dad's to scan if he was having the same crunchy experience. At that time he did not admit defeat- and we all had to continue eating our meal. Shortly thereafter it got put into the rounder file of funny stories. We often revisit it for ol' times sake and a darn good laugh.
I tip my hat to my Dad- the Dad who despite not enjoying cooking amidst a very busy life- valued our time as a family that he gave up his own comforts and potential ridicule so we could all gather around the dinner table and grow; grow into the thing he loves most-
his family.
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