I am a gardener. Actually, my mom’s maiden name is Gardner and I always thought that was pretty cool and appropriate. I get, at least partially, my love of plants and garden and flowers from her. I can spend hours wandering through her field guides and poking through her garden. My green thumb comes to me honestly. Plants and flowers and green populated our world from before I can remember, and as a kid, as if by osmosis, I think I learned what makes green things happy… it is second nature to me to be in a garden or planting something or planning something for a future garden. I got this planning gene from my Mom, too… She is one of the most organized people I know and is always at the ready with a ‘Kit’ for what-have-you. I am sure her camping kit, for example, is all ready to go right now including kitchen ware, spices, field guides, and plenty of tent pegs for those who may not have enough. She is a girl scout extraordinaire at the ready for just about everything. In this vein, I am much more cluttered and I am ok with a bit more of a mess but that gene is there in its own ramshackle sort of way and has manifested itself, for example, in my garden notebook . I catalog what plants work, what doesn’t work, what blooms when, maps of where things are planted and when, time-lines for germination and so on ad nauseum. This cataloging gene is definitely from my mom and I thank her for what bits of it made it to me.
And, like the gardening thing, we both feel very much at home in the kitchen. Unlike me, though, my Mom is an excellent baker. She can whip up pies, for example, that completely stymie me. I am afraid of pie crusts. I am fairly confident they have something against me. I can whip up a crumb crust, but beyond that, I have limits.... What comes out of my oven are often lumps not even half as good as the delights that come out of hers. As I scientist with a creative side, you would think I would be better at it than I am, but in general, I am solidly dismal. As one example of many I could share, my bread-making resolution this year has yielded not one great loaf of bread yet…. It is a mystery to me. I am sure, if my mom decided to bake a battard, it would come out perfectly. She is organized and methodical and I’m sure this helps. I have lovely memories of cookies and cakes my mom has made over the years, and every time something comes out of the oven halfway decent in my kitchen I think I may be one step closer to that, but know I will never quite get there. That magical sort of sweet hot aura surrounding a fresh baked cake doesn't happen very often in my kitchen. I am more often looking at recipes as simply a guide or inspiration and then go my own way -- this works so much better when I am not baking. Savory dishes are more my cup of tea. My off-roading mentality lends itself nicely to creative meals and so it all works out well when we get together and cook. I look forward to her pies and cookies, and I think she enjoys sharing my creative meals.
And so, Mom… I look forward to the next time we cook and to seeing your garden and showing you mine. Happy Mother’s Day a few days late for the Blog world, but I feel so very happy and lucky to have you in my life for not just the above-mentioned traits you so deftly passed along to me. You are a source of unending support and love and I appreciate and love you whole-heartedly. May your kitchen and garden be filled with delights. I hope to share them both with you very soon.
