A Word About Ingredients

Butter. I call everything butter. Ever since the 40s when my mother let me break the yellow capsule in a plastic bag of what looked like lard, and squeeze until all the “lard” was yellow, I’ve called it butter. You may call it oleo, margarine, buttery spread; buy it in sticks, tubs, or squeeze bottles; understand trans-this and no-trans that; I call it butter. Use whatever you have in the fridge. No one ever left my table hungry because they didn’t like the butter.

Cooking Oil. My Aunt Helen down on the farm used lard; great, big scoops; or left-over bacon grease from a can on the back of the stove. It was oil. Now the choices would choke one of her horses: canola, blended, peanut, safflower, olive, etc.

And Vegetable Oil. Like butter, there are the questions of trans, mono, poly, etc. When I call for cooking oil, I mean whatever you like. The store brand vegetable oil is satisfactory. No one ever left my table hungry because they didn’t like the oil.

Spices. I did some research. I went to the grocery store and counted the number of different spices from one brand name. There were more than 130! The cost to buy one of each was about $665.00.

I am not going to ask you to stroll through your herb garden and snip ½ teaspoon of basil leaves; or only use parsley that you just picked; or have to go next door and ask to borrow a sprig of lavender. No.

You need salt and pepper. There are a few spices and flavorings that your family may ask for: hot sauce and chili powder; nutmeg and cinnamon; dry mustard and oregano; Worcestershire and soy sauces. Experiment. Have fun. No one ever left my table hungry because they didn't like the spices.

The Best Cooking Tip in the Whole Book

In several recipes I have left out a few ingredients like one stalk of celery or one carrot or one-quarter onion. I don’t like to buy a whole bunch or whole bag of something when most of what is left will go to waste.

A friend of mine at church suggested I go to the salad bar at the grocery and buy just what I need—a tablespoon chopped onion, some bacon bits, and few tomato pieces, quarter-cup grated cheese, a few slices of this or a few hunks of that. Buy just what I need, save money and nothing wasted.