Merry Cooking Lesson

I am really enjoying sharing with my friends of the Carefree Quail stories that go back to when life was sooooo much less complicated. Granted, I am remembering through the eyes of a child, but maybe, just maybe we should be in the habit of dwelling on days that did not include endless distractions!!

My dad, the town barber was the sole provider for our family of seven. A barber, in a small town, supporting us long before haircuts ranged from $15-$100+. Most of my days at home, haircuts were $5 or less! Yikes.

   It’s hard to comprehend how we survived on such a small income—and we really did more than survive. Our days were filled with being outside in the wonder of nature. Or inside asking questions that our parents had time to answer. 

    We didn’t get cable TV well into my teen years, so mostly growing up it was one local channel. Channel 12 KVOS Bellingham Washington. Watching TV was not a every minute of the day occurrence. In our house it was mainly for weekend viewing. Saturday morning cartoons…Bugs Bunny, Looney Tunes, but Johnny Quest was my secret favorite! I can’t believe that we all didn’t become blind trying to see the pictures on a screen that was sooooooo small. Now, we are not satisfied in our TV viewing  unless our screen fills the entire wall!

    Most Saturdays mom would have an endless amount of Swedish Pancake batter to feed a small army…and she didn’t deliver, you had to get in line! 

    In my early memories, the weekend shows were : Saturday Night Movies, Ed Sullivan Show, Gunsmoke, and Carol Burnett. On most weekdays, all my siblings and I watched  I Love Lucy, right before before dinner was served. Such fond memories of a simpler time.

No matter how little we had, we were taught to enjoy what we had. Our mom inspired us to create with whatever we could find in the house. So we became fearless in the kitchen in  cooking because she was not so interested in investigating new recipes and had limited skills, but boy could she bake!! 

    My sister Merry, did everything well. She was great at cooking and baking. Taught herself all the skills necessary to maintain a home without depending on a husband or  lot of skilled tradesmen. She is someone my own girls really admired for her “can do it attitude”.

    In her recovery period from the numerous surgeries and treatments, if she wasn’t healing at our home, we would get on the phone and talk for hours about everything, and always ending with our favorite recipes we promised to email a copy. 

One of the last meals she cooked for us was a salad and casserole—that I don’t remember what it was because I was so baffled by how perfectly chopped every vegetable was made. Every piece I put in my mouth was uniformly cut. Not one piece was vying for my attention.I will never forget how comfortable I was as I ate that meal. Kind of weird that I don’t remember what it was….just how perfect it all was. She paid attention to the details. This is what makes a great cook, baker and person…when they care about what they are doing and who they are with.

    Fast forward to this last week, on a hot day, me realizing I had all the ingredients for our favorite  chicken salad recipe. Since, I wanted to make the most of a day off, I quickly gathered ingredients and “voila!” all done. Put in the fridge because dinner is in 8 hours!

Yummy Chicken salad was good, but because I didn’t follow the directions exactly the pieces of meat and veggies kept falling off my sandwich before I could get a bite in my mouth. Midway through eating dinner I sheepishly said, “I should have cut things a little smaller”. Everyone (too) quickly agreed!

Merry, I get it now. Thanks for still being my inspiration in the kitchen!! 

I’m a slow learner. 

Now it’s your turn to try this yummy chicken salad. If I forget to include it— cut everything in small uniform pieces, and enjoy!! (recipe below)

Thanks, Carefree Quail Community we appreciate your support!

Lois

Mama Quail

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Tarragon Chicken Salad (Sliders)

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked chopped Chicken

1 cup chopped Granny Smith apple

1/3 cup chopped Celery

1/4 cup chopped red onion 

3/4 cup Mayonnaise 

1 tablespoon fresh Lemon juice 

4 tablespoons fresh Tarragon 

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/3 teaspoon pepper

2 cups Arugula (optional)

6-8 slider buns

In a large bowl combine Chicken, Apple, Celery, and onion. 

In a separate bowl combine Mayonnaise, Lemon juice, Tarragon, salt and pepper. 

Mix well and add together. Refrigerate until ready to serve.