A REFLECTIVE MOMENT

Just a breather here before my next recipe. Yesterday we buried my Uncle Ted. He was 95 years old and had a complete, zestful life. (btw, attending the funeral was his older brother who is now 98!)
This sad day led me to reflect on some very happy times I had while growing up. Thinking back on those days, I can remember spending summers at his house with my cousins Bob & Dale who are 2 and 1 year older than me, respectively. I'm sure I didn't spend entire summers there but the memories are so strong that it certainly seems that way.
And then something hit me! I had two wonderful uncles who were great cooks! In the days when I grew up, the only cooking models were women. But I had two uncles who told me (albeit only through their example) that men could cook, should cook and could be good cooks! The fact that I was mentored in this way had never occurred to me before. Wow!


Uncle Ted



Uncle Ted, of course, loved grilling, making sausages and gardening fresh vegetables, to mention only a few of his "foodly" activities. His was such a powerful personality that he made me want to try something I had never even dreamed of eating before, especially when I was much younger.

Uncle Frank

My Uncle Frank was from Louisiana and had a very laid back personality. His wit was deep, sometimes requiring a long time for me to laugh out loud (the original lol), suddenly getting the point of some comment he made hours or days before. Every Sunday morning, after church, most of Uncle Frank's relatives would visit his house where there were two huge restaurant sized kettles of tomato sauce simmering away on his large stove. Uncle Frank's sauce was stupendous! Made only from his own tomatoes, canned from his large garden, and filled with everything from pork hocks to whole chickens! It was a flavor unlike anything I have ever eaten. I would eat two bowls of spaghetti at his house and then come home for my mother's, much more tame (although equally enjoyable), sauce. Noon at Uncle Frank's and then 3o'clock at our house. I'm surprised I was such a skinny kid!



Me, a few years ago



Below is a picture of Uncle Ted talking about food with my wife Sandy and me, back in 1985.

I just needed to get all that out of me before I could continue with recipes. I hope, in the months to come, I will be able to invent a recipe for each of these favorite uncles.