Although my mother was a very good cook, she had no interest in
teaching me when I was a child. I learned all the rudiments in the
Domestic Science class in high school (known as "Home Ec" in the US.).
During WWII food was too short to risk any mistakes on my part. It
was not until I got married and came to the US that I learned to cook
from my husband, who was, as they say, a born cook. I wish I were
that good. I've been working on it ever since. Hey - I can now peel
a hardboiled egg and season my cast iron pans!

Dora

On Wed, 23 Dec 2009 11:28:27 -0500, "Dora" > wrote:

>Hey - I can now peel
>a hardboiled egg and season my cast iron pans!

Yeah, but can you boil water?

--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.

sf wrote:
> On Wed, 23 Dec 2009 11:28:27 -0500, "Dora" >
> wrote:
>
>> Hey - I can now peel
>> a hardboiled egg and season my cast iron pans!
>
> Yeah, but can you boil water?

Yep - I have a distorted teakettle to prove it!

On Wed, 23 Dec 2009 12:10:42 -0500, "Dora" > wrote:

>sf wrote:
>> On Wed, 23 Dec 2009 11:28:27 -0500, "Dora" >
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Hey - I can now peel
>>> a hardboiled egg and season my cast iron pans!
>>
>> Yeah, but can you boil water?
>
>Yep - I have a distorted teakettle to prove it!

One time I put my tea kettle on to boil and went to the back yard.
Well, you know how one thing leads to another in the yard - I forgot
about the kettle. When I came back inside, it had boiled dry and the
enamel was melting off. It stuck to the burner! I pulled it off, but
the enamel stayed. After that, I bought a whistler which I also
ruined. I finally found one with a "train" whistle and didn't boil
that one dry because I could hear it whistling a block away through
closed windows. LOL

--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.

On Dec 23, 9:23*am, sf > wrote:
> On Wed, 23 Dec 2009 12:10:42 -0500, "Dora" > wrote:
> >sf wrote:
> >> On Wed, 23 Dec 2009 11:28:27 -0500, "Dora" >
> >> wrote:
>
> >>> Hey - I can now peel
> >>> a hardboiled egg and season my cast iron pans!
>
> >> Yeah, but can you boil water?
>
> >Yep - I have a distorted teakettle to prove it!
>
> One time I put my tea kettle on to boil and went to the back yard.
> Well, you know how one thing leads to another in the yard - I forgot
> about the kettle. *When I came back inside, it had boiled dry and the
> enamel was melting off. *It stuck to the burner! *I pulled it off, but
> the enamel stayed. *After that, I bought a whistler which I also
> ruined. *I finally found one with a "train" whistle and didn't boil
> that one dry because I could hear it whistling a block away through
> closed windows. *LOL
>
> --
> I love cooking with wine.
> Sometimes I even put it in the food.

Well...as they say: A watch pot never boils but don't watch it and see
what happens!

sf wrote:
>
> One time I put my tea kettle on to boil and went to the back yard.
> Well, you know how one thing leads to another in the yard - I forgot
> about the kettle. When I came back inside, it had boiled dry and
> the
> enamel was melting off. It stuck to the burner! I pulled it off,
> but
> the enamel stayed. After that, I bought a whistler which I also
> ruined. I finally found one with a "train" whistle and didn't boil
> that one dry because I could hear it whistling a block away through
> closed windows. LOL

sf, that's really freaky, since I did the exact same thing with an
aluminum saucepan. I saw the smoke/steam from the yard, grabbed the
pot and found molten aluminum shimmering on the burner.
Oy vey - what a mess.

On Dec 23, 11:28*am, "Dora" > wrote:
> Although my mother was a very good cook, she had no interest in
> teaching me when I was a child. *I learned all the rudiments in the
> Domestic Science class in high school (known as "Home Ec" in the US.).
> During WWII food was too short to risk any mistakes on my part. * It
> was not until I got married and came to the US that I learned to cook
> from my husband, who was, as they say, a born cook. *I wish I were
> that good. * I've been working on it ever since. *Hey - I can now peel
> a hardboiled egg and season my cast iron pans!
>
> Dora
>

I learned to cook mostly in prison. I had worked high end restaurants
as a commis/cook/cookshelper before my bit, but inside I was chef
taught. Now the food in prison is of course not the greatest. But we
also had a staff cafeteria where top quality simple foods were
served. All of our soups were made from stock etc. Roast meats
were done traditionally. etc.
There was no MSG on site. There were no soup bases etc. on site.
Even our been and bacon chowder was made from scratch. We also served
a great Mulligatawny once per month.
In addition, we hosted so called dignitaries from time to time, and
they were served with items from a more upscale menu.
My chef also taught me traditional ice carving. Instead of cheating
and buying a mould, he purchased a block of ice and chipped away at it
until a swan was born. The carving of course was reserved for the
dining room where the politicians and their ilk dined.
Now, those days are gone. Prisons and hospitals do a heat and serve
thing with stuff that is carted in already cooked.
Those were the best five years of my life.

Bent Attorney Esq. wrote:
>
> I learned to cook mostly in prison. I had worked high end
> restaurants
> as a commis/cook/cookshelper before my bit, but inside I was chef
> taught. Now the food in prison is of course not the greatest. But
> we
> also had a staff cafeteria where top quality simple foods were
> served. All of our soups were made from stock etc. Roast meats
> were done traditionally. etc.
> There was no MSG on site. There were no soup bases etc. on site.
> Even our been and bacon chowder was made from scratch. We also
> served
> a great Mulligatawny once per month.
> In addition, we hosted so called dignitaries from time to time, and
> they were served with items from a more upscale menu.
> My chef also taught me traditional ice carving. Instead of cheating
> and buying a mould, he purchased a block of ice and chipped away at
> it
> until a swan was born. The carving of course was reserved for the
> dining room where the politicians and their ilk dined.
> Now, those days are gone. Prisons and hospitals do a heat and serve
> thing with stuff that is carted in already cooked.
> Those were the best five years of my life.

Did you continue to cook? It would be a pity if all that skill didn't
get used.

Regards,
Dora

In article
>,
"Bent Attorney Esq." > wrote:

> My chef also taught me traditional ice carving. Instead of cheating
> and buying a mould, he purchased a block of ice and chipped away at it

They allowed sharp tools in a prison? "That's different."
--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
http://web.me.com/barbschaller 12/15/2009

Bent Attorney Esq. wrote:
> I learned to cook mostly in prison. I had worked high end restaurants
> as a commis/cook/cookshelper before my bit, but inside I was chef
> taught.
>
snip....
> Those were the best five years of my life.
>

My father died when I was 10 yo and my mother remarried, his name was
Larry and he was a lot younger than my Mom, he was only 25. He was the
best cook, saying he learned how to cook in college, we later found out,
he learned how to cook in prison. lol This was totally scandalous, I
had never met anyone who had been to prison before - I was lovin' it.
She had an annulment 6 months later, but they remained friends.


Speaking of Christmas, Larry and his new, now pregnant wife, came to
visit, this was 3-4 yrs after their annulment and now Mom was on
marriage number 3. My new stepfather, who I had known most of my life,
came into my room on Christmas morning and sat on the side of the bed,
waking me up. He wanted to know what was up with Larry, because he was
in the kitchen whistling Christmas tunes and cooking pancakes. lol
Hey, some people just have the Christmas spirit, and they can make great
pancakes to boot!


Becca