We all know that fashions come and go—corduroys out, ragged jeans in, tank tops out, retro T-shirts in. I am still waiting for kerchiefs and bell-bottoms to make their comeback. You laugh, but I am guessing within the next three years or so we’ll all be touting folded bandanas on our heads and sewing fabric to the bottom of our jeans.
Even some hobbies have come full circle, like knitting. I started the most beautiful afghan three years ago and my sweet mother just finished it for me after Christmas. It was a little adventurous for me as it had 27 different yarns and the scalloped pattern was hard for a beginner to follow. I promise to stick to knitting scarves and dishcloths from now on.
I’ve had my run at other hobbies like counted crossstitch and soap making. My favorite now is sewing mittens from old wool sweaters. We are a generation that wants to preserve these old hobbies but time and lack of mentors keeps most of us at bay.
I pick the easy old-fashioned cooking method to teach my kids, like popping popcorn in a pan on the stove versus unfolding a paper bag and sticking it in the microwave. I also drag out the waffle maker every so often so they don’t think these always come out of a box. We get so caught up in our everyday lives we forget that some of our kids have never seen popping popcorn or sizzling waffles. But of all the old cooking methods I grew up with I never thought I would hear that the pressure cooker was making a comeback.
It is all the rage. You can cook an entire meal in just minutes rather than hours in a crock-pot. Microwaves out, pressure cookers in. Thank goodness, because I have two pressure cookers and a cookbook that came with the original Presto about 40 years ago. (It belonged to my Grandma— I’m not quite that old.) I just knew I was holding on to these for something. Just goes to show if you hold on to something long enough you’ll use it again. (A hoarder’s anthem.)
If you grew up with a pressure cooker you know that they can be noisy, loud, hissing devices that sound like they’re going to blow any second. But to me it sounds like dinner. My mom made potatoes in the pressure cooker just about every night. Sometimes she would mash them before serving, but most nights they were drained of the salt water and poured into a bowl. We would then mash our own and top with butter or gravy. She also used the pressure cooker to make soups and stews. A pressure cooker can soften the toughest cuts of meat into melt-in-your mouth entrees. She made Swiss steak using round steaks. I could tell you this was delicious but I’d be lying because I hate Swiss steak. Something about peppers, onions and tomatoes over beef…. well it doesn’t even look appealing. Sorry mom.
However, there are some pressure cooker recipes I enjoy and you may like to try. Dust of the old bugger and get it hissing once again.
Will you love me
in December
as you do in May?
Will you love me
in the good
old-fashioned way?
When my hair
has all turned gray,
Will you kiss me
then and say,
Thatyou love me
in December
as you do in May?”
James Walker
Tastes Like Home columnist Sandy (Anderson) Holthaus lives on an alpaca farm in South Haven, MN with her husband, Michael,
and their children Zoe, Jack and Ben. Her heart remains on the North Shore where she grew up with her parents, Art and LaVonne
Anderson of Schroeder. She enjoys writing about her childhood and mixes memories with delicious helpings of home-style recipes.
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