Cookbook: Wooden Spoon Kitchen–Meat and Potatoes

Lately I have been thinking about my roots; about the farm I grew up on until I was twelve. I think about that farm all of the time, but lately I wonder why my connection to that land is so strong. Occasionally I ask other people what places they feel connected to, and why. D, for example, feels a strong connection to his grandparents’ home, not the place where he was raised. A few weeks ago I dined with a lovely women who still calls Tooele, Utah her home, even though she left over fifty years ago and raised her family on the East Coast. What connects us to different places? What places mean something to you, and why?

I truly loved my childhood. For the past few summers, I have taken my children to this land–to let them walk around it, and offer them a sense of what my childhood was like. Last summer, while visiting this place, old friends offered to take us to my elementary school. I showed my girls all of my classrooms, the cafeteria, the gym. D had just gifted himself a camera and was busy documenting the experience. I lost track of him. Weeks later, he and I were reviewing the trip’s photos, and one picture in particular made me gasp. D had taken a picture of the landscape as seen from my elementary schoolyard. His picture captured the view I saw as I rode the school bus home everyday. For Christmas, D presented me with the framed photo. Everyone in the room (my parents included) gasped when they saw it. The random visitor may not think much about the photo now hung in my dining room. But every time I pass it I am reminded of who I am and where I come from.

Why am I writing this? Because I think we are defined by what matters to us. When I think about food, I love it all. But at the end of the day, I am always inextricably drawn to food that is more comfortable than fancy, more meat and potatoes than foie gras and dark chocolate. As much as I love to cook, I want to eat simple things; many of which are in Marilyn M. Moore’s book “Wooden Spoon Kitchen: Meat and Potatoes and other Comfort Foods”. Moore is most famous for her book about bread, but in this book she reveals her family’s basic dishes. You know how I always say I love to curl up with good cookbooks? Well, this is the one I always imagine when I say that. There is nothing fancy about Moore’s book, just a lot of straightforward recipes that are yummy and comforting. I love this book. I suggest you find yourself a copy. The only place I could find it was here (mine was given to me several years ago by a very dear Aunt). And if it doesn’t speak to you, I hope you find a book that does. If you do find that one special book, tell us what it is and why it is dear.