Liver, seafood and sardines — oh, my (and yuck)
I don’t mind cooking.
My late father was a mess sergeant in Okinawa during World War II. His main duty was to plan meals for the troops in his outfit and then supervise the preparation, which was done by local residents and Japanese POWs.
When he returned home from the Army Air Force, he baked a cake from scratch for his mother, according to family lore (since I was yet to arrive on this planet). And then he quit cooking and baking.
For the most part.
Once, when mother was too ill (with a very nasty flu bug) to prepare our meals, dad stepped in and brought to bear some of the things he learned at government expense. He pulled out a cast iron skillet and whipped up some scrambled eggs for me and my brother.
Not wanting to dirty more utensils than needed, he clanked the skillet down on the table, gave us each a fork and told us to dig in. So, we ate our meal that night out of the pan like a pair of little heathens: no plates, no cups, no saucers or other silverware, just a fork.
We thoroughly enjoyed it and urged dad to cook again for us. Mother recovered, however, and dad never made us another meal.
I mention this because I like to cook and bake (and eat, if you can’t guess that by my girth). I learned from necessity when my mother went to work when I was 12 years old. As an early latchkey kid, I had to learn how to prepare food if I didn’t want to be hungry all the time.
I began by frying eggs, once amazing a schoolmate how I could crack their shells without breaking the yolks.
Later, I scrambled them. Then I moved up to bigger things: frying hamburgers. As I grew older, I gained more experience. In my late teens, I prepared a meal for my girlfriend at the time, feeding her stuffed steak, mashed potatoes and corn.
During my bachelor days, I broadened into baking, preparing cakes and cookies, some from scratch and some from prepared mixes, usually tweaking them a bit to suit my tastes.
Now in my 60s, I have prepared lasagna, meat loaf, ham loaf, roasted turkeys, made a variety of casseroles, canned corn, stuffed manicotti with cheese, baked pies and cookies, assembled vegetable dishes to accompany some of the main courses, etc.
I even have my own recipes and continue to experiment with other dishes.
Also a fairly liberal eater, I like most foods. There are a few things, however, you will never see me cook: liver, most seafood and sardines. Liver and sardines are at the top of my “will not eat” list.
I’m not crazy about most things that come from the water, either, although I appreciate lobster tail, crab cakes and Rainbow trout.
My lovely wife, an excellent cook in her own right, has her favorites. For her part, she could probably live on sardines, seafood and maybe an occasional plate of liver and onions. I tell her she can prepare any of those things — when I’m asleep or not at home.
In fact, she can do it anytime she wants, as long as she keeps it to herself.
After all, ignorance (in most cases) is bliss.
And on the subject of liver, sardines and seafood, the more blissful I am, the better.
Give me good ol’ meat and potatoes any day and leave the sardines in the sea.
Have a good day.
James Pletcher Jr. is business editor at the 蘑菇视频. He can be reached at 724-439-7571 or by email at jpletcher@heraldstandard.com.