I was thinking the other day, as I was cleaning my kitchen, of all the "time-saving" devices I owned. I began to compare what I had in mine with what my mother had to work with all the 50-plus years she was married to my dad. I decided to take a little inventory of some of the innovations I am blessed with that she hadn't dreamed of in her lifetime.
Here's a list from my kitchen:
- Stainless Steel Microwave oven
- Stainless steel/titanium/copper pots and pans
- Stainless Steel Dishwasher
- Stainless Steel Rotisserie
- Stainless Steel Self-Cleaning Gas Stove
- Stainless Steel Toaster
- Kitchenaid Professional Grey Stand Mixer with all the attachments
- Stainless Steel Crockpot
- Stainless Steel Knives
- Stainless Steel Kitchen Utensils in Stainless Steel Cannister
- Custom Hickory Cabinets
- Corian Countertops
- Ceramic Tile Floor
- Food Processor
- Ice Cream Maker
- Hand Mixer
- 16-Speed Blender
- Boom Box
- Bread Maker
- Wine Rack
- Dustbuster
- Rechargeable Electric Broom
- Large-capacity Self-defrosting Refrigerator/Freezer
- Chest Freezer
- A shelf crammed with all sorts of cookbooks
My mother was born in 1910 to a family of Russian immigrant parents and five brothers and sisters. She lived through World War I, the Roaring Twenties, Prohibition, Al Capone, the Great Depression (when grandpa lost all his money), World War II, food shortages and rationing, the Cold War, the Korean Conflict, Vietnam, and the assasinations of a president, a presidential candidate, and a civil rights leader. She even saw a man walk on the moon.
She was stricken with polio when she was 18 months old and for the rest of her life walked with a pronounced limp because her left leg was shriveled. That didn't stop her though. She worked hard all her life, in and out of the house. Mother never had a lot of material things, and my parents never had much money, but what she was blessed with was a husband and two children (my sister and I) who loved her dearly. She also had the support of a large extended family. We were poor, but we didn't know it. My sister and I were happy in our ignorance.
My parents, Sara and Jack
My parents didn't own a car or a television set (my grandparents did, though). We didn't have airconditioning (my grandparents had a window unit in their upstairs apartment). We didn't have a freezer. When my sister and I were small, my mother had a wooden ice box. Every day she would put a card in the window indicating how many pounds of ice she wanted and the ice man came with his leather apron on and huge tongs carrying the ice. Mother would have to empty the drip pan every day otherwise she would have water all over the floor from the melting ice.
My parents owned a small corner grocery store so we always had plenty to eat. Mother worked in the store all day but still managed to take care of the house and the rest of the family. She also sewed all our clothes and did mending for others. She sewed on a Singer treadle sewing machine which I own now. I can remember her sewing so fast as she moved the treadle with her right foot. She washed clothes in a wringer washing machine and hung the clothes outside to dry or in the basement if it was raining. She ironed everything because permanent press had not been invented. She used blueing to whiten the clothes, starch to give the clothes body, washing powder, and pants stretchers for my father's work pants. She would wash on Mondays and iron on Tuesdays.
What my mother did best, though, was cook. Everything was made from scratch as there were no frozen or pre-prepared foods in those days. Because she didn't own all the "time-saving" devices I own, she prepared our homecooked meals by chopping, mincing, cutting, mixing, stirring, measuring, dicing, sauteeing, braising, roasting, frying, and baking without the advantage of any modern appliances. Mother's food was delicious and she always made special Sunday afternoon and holiday meals. Everyone in the family loved coming to our house to eat. We would eat until we couldn't push ourselves away from the table.
Am I better off than my mother with all the fancy-schmancy things in my kitchen? Do they really save me any more time than if I didn't have them? And, do I cook better than my mother did? I don't think so. With just the two of us at home, we eat a lot of our meals out these days. I probably only cook one meal a day and make special meals for company two to three times a year.
Could I come up with the number of innovative meals my mother cooked over the years without a cookbook? Never in a million years. She could make a feast from things I wouldn't consider eating now that I'm all grown up (beef hearts, kidneys, liver, and tongue).
I inherited a lot of mother's kitchen things after she died. I cherish these utensils and pans and use them when I can. I like to think that she would love it that I still use her things and that in this way she lives on.
So, after my telling you a little about my mother, do you think she missed anything by not having all the fancy things I have in my kitchen today? You be the judge.
Happy birthday, husband. This is your day. You've reached that "magical" age where you can proudly say, "I'm now on Medicare. Wanna see my card?"
