Cole and I made a tart to celebrate his dad’s birthday. Cole made the tart and I took up my role as sous chef, which loosely means I documented the process for later blog posts, cleaned up spills, and assumed my motherly role by frequently saying, “Please do that over by the sink.”
In any case, the tart was a beautiful tribute to his Dad’s birthday, but in a rather odd way. Cole missed the part in the recipe about cooking the crust for 18 minutes at 400 degrees. My brother-in-law, chef extraordinaire, noticed this when he was helping Cole prepare the tart to serve. Cole assured him the crust did not need baking. When Richard asked if it had egg in it, and Cole answered yes, my ears perked up. Nevertheless, Cole was so certain the crust was made to specification that the tart was cut, artfully arranged on the plates, and served. It was good.
It was not until we got home and I got a request to send the recipe to a friend that I noticed that the crust should, indeed, have been baked. Oh well. The eggs were organic, and I told my brother-in-law that he has enough good cooks around him. Cole and I make things more interesting for him. Graciously, he agreed.
Cole is a wanna-be cook. He cooks tarts when I should be encouraging him to cook chocolate chips cookies. Cole has a mom who knows from experience that cooking is more than simply following the directions, so mistakes happen when we cook together. When we made the tart, he lost count of the number of egg yolks in the bowl. Was it 4 or 6? It’s understandable since, with some exasperation, he told me he lost count because I kept moving him around, trying to achieve the perfect egg-cracking photograph. So we pitched the eggs yolks and cracked six more eggs without interruption. I have no idea what to do with an unknown number of egg yolks.
Joe was a serious cook, and would not have been amused by our mistakes. He often drove us nuts when he decided to undertake a cooking project. He worried about dog hair, splashes of sink water, overcooking, and undercooking. He drove us from the house with burning eyes when he roasted chili peppers. He would study a complicated recipe for a week, highlighting important points, before the moment of cooking arrived. Joe and I often used to fight when he cooked. I was often accused of throwing away or giving away the missing cooking tool, putting the large mixing spoon in the dishwasher, and in general, being a distraction to the whole process with things like getting a drink of water or satisfying my current hunger with a snack. It always irritated me after it was all said and done when Joe wasn’t happy with the results.
Cole was completely satisfied with his tart, even when we realized the tart crust should have been baked. The tart was tasty, the tart was pretty, and the tart was made using all his current cooking skills. He would rather make a few mistakes along the cooking path than be stuck baking things that don’t excite him. Cole enjoys the experience of cooking; picking out an exciting recipe, the separation of egg from yolk, learning to cut segments from a juicy orange to garnish the tart, the pattern of honey on the plate, all while allowing time for putting his sous chef in the occasional head lock. Little Grasshopper knows his skills will improve with practice, and with divine intervention he won’t give any of us food poisoning.
When I asked Joe how he liked his birthday tart, he channeled back, “Thanks for helping our son be so amazing. I love you both so much!” And that made the sous chef smile … and cry just a little. The End.
Glad you were in my Odd neighborhood. Feel free to drop by any time. Odd Loves Company and odd loves you and you and you!! I would love to hear from you in the comment section of this blog, or on Facebook or Twitter!
Katybeth
This post is a perfect metaphor for life… follow directions but not too much, it’s okay to make a mess, sometimes you lose count of how many eggs and you start over and if the intention is love, the end result will not harm you. Beautiful post, Kb.
Cynthia, the best ingredients are humor and love….and for someone who knows of burned pizza at least twice…I know you of all mom’s understands!
Kb
This was a funny story with a beautiful ending. I have never known two people who took such joy from their child from the moment he was born. Sitting on the back yard swing in the rain or camping out under the stars. Just soaking up the happiness of being with him. I wish every child on earth had parents like you two.
Love,
M
Thanks Mom….just passing along what I grew up with! OX
Time to write the book KB!
You are ready to be the next best-seller… I swear, I mean it! This is always my most enjoyable read of my day… many more would agree, I’m sure.
Start!
The world is waiting….
Working title: The Joy of Cooking… With My Sun.
Love the title Erika…and I do have something in the works…finished by June 2nd maybe….Thanks for all the encouragement!
I loved this post. The tart was from the heart.
Wow all this great title help…I think I like Tart from the Heart so much I will change this one!
Thanks!
I READ YOUR BLOG. WHAT RIGHT DO YOU HAVE CHANNELING YOUR DEAD HUSBAND. WHAT EXACTLY ARE YOUR CREDENTIALS?
MRS. BRENNAN
How dare you challenge my daughters right to channel her dead husband. My daughter and her husband were very physic and totally tuned in to each other’s thoughts and dreams. My daughter has long amazed people with her physic abilities. A Captain on the NY police force regularly consulted with my daughter on puzzling police cases.
Many people find my daughter’s physic abilities amazing.
Marcie Jensen
Hey Margaret – whoever you are…obviously you don’t know Katybeth or anyone in her family, so hopefully you’ll understand that your opinion means nothing. I guess I would like to know what your credentials are to criticize another person’s experiences. AND STOP YELLING, IT’S GIVING ME A HEADACHE.
Well! Ok Then! Thank you mom and Carolee ….Uh Margaret thank you for sharing…and I guess you have now met my mom and Carolee who I introduce to you, in my blog retort to your comment.
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Oh what a dear and special story. If only all of us could follow your example in connecting with our love ones who have gone onto paradise. We are spirit beings regardless of our earthly religious or non-religious affiliation. We are spirits and I truly beleive we remain connected. So of course it is appropriate to bake the birthday tart. Which was gorgeous !
I also love how you encourage Cole to prepare anything his little heart desires. Cook for pleasure is my motto. My son is a good cook and improves all the time. My daughter is the same. No one will ever be like Joe, his cooking skills were unique to him. The same way my children feel my skills are unique to me. You are impressing me more and more with your desire to try new dishes. I love your sense of adventure and I love, love, love your parenting style. Cole is so fortunate to have been a part of your ” odd” family. A perfectly delightful ” odd ” family ! I also like Marcie’s comments up there, she is like me in that way. Oh I can be born again spirit filled with the love of God but don’t hurt my kids. Ever ! Because I am like a very hungry and dangerous wild animal. I cannot handle it. Mom was actually pretty tame. LOL
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