Four Years Without The Master Chef

 It's hard to believe that four years have elapsed since I lost my Mom, our family's Master Chef. This past year would have made her worry but amused and maybe thrilled that her kids managed.

I know she would have been worried out of her mind about my twice broken arm and the surgery that followed the first break. What would she have made of my brother's spinach salad and his successful attempt on our family's potato salad recipe? She would have liked the spinach salad and maybe the ingenuity he put into the salad. He used already boiled potatoes and a variety of vegan mayonnaise. Would she have liked the added capers and green olives? Maybe. She would have said maybe add more celery and a bit more onion, both needed for crunch and texture.She definitely would have offered input on jazzing up store bought tomato sauce that my brother is fond of having with his penne or rotelli. His Halloween barbecue would have tickled her and she would have loved bundling up in front of the fire pit munching on a "real" hot dog and having a plate of potato salad, followed by hot coffee and Halloween cupcakes.

What would she have thought of my "one arm cooking"? She would have worried that I was doing too much and hurting my afflicted arm when I made my well known air fryer portabellas. Yet she would have been happy that I was actually cooking and would have been at my side to do most of the work. My taking the right vitamins and my daily dose of calcium  would have been her top priority. She would want me strong again and healthy. I think she also would have wanted me to eat more protein, namely meat and dairy to build stronger bones. We would have had more rotisserie chicken from the Acme and may even steak sandwiches along with a snack of Brie on crackers. She definitely would have made me drink cow's milk instead of the usual almond milk and also eat more yogurt too. We would have gone the Piedmontese route with using butter to fry and saute - after all it is dairy too  - instead of relying on "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter". Greens , especially kale and spinach would have been more on the menu. These too are rich in iron and good for healing bones.

This would have been a tough year for her to witness but she was tough and could handle anything thrown her way. A kid with a twice broken arm wouldn't have fazed her. She would definitely go into Master Chef mode and created healthy, protein rich dishes for us.