Chrissy has spent most of her life preparing food and while her desire to cook is still with her, she is unable to remember ingredients or follow the process on her own. We seem to have settled into a rhythm of cooking together, something we really never have been able to manage. So, much of this past weekend Chrissy spent at my house and we baked and cooked!
I had recently stumbled on a new website, http://www.theothermama.com/, and found a microwave apple crisp recipe that I thought might be good to create with my mom. Sure enough, Chrissy sat at the table,peeled and cut up all the apples and stirred the mixture as I measured and poured. After baking, we added French Vanilla ice cream and at 11:00 AM we decided that recipe was a keeper. Next we began working on a crock pot chicken and vegetable soup I had printed out earlier from Rachel Olsen with Proverbs 31 Ministries, http://www.rachelolsen.blogspot.com/ With this recipe I just opened ingredients and sat them out for Chrissy to dump in the crock pot. I even was comfortable letting her add seasonings as I knew much of their flavor would be lost by adding them so early. The soup turned out well and is also a keeper! The following day while looking at the October issue of Southern Living we found a recipe for caramelized apples. So, I brought up more apples from downstairs and again, Chrissy peeled and stirred. With this dish, everyone agreed our own recipe was better; we use butter, much more brown sugar, and cinnamon. That afternoon we made a chicken and rice casserole, a recipe I have used for years and know by memory. While Ms. Chrissy poured and stirred, she asked several times if I was sure about the recipe, the ingredient or the amount, as I didn’t have anything to follow. That evening when I prepared Chrissy’s plate of casserole, she grinned and said she had already tasted it and it was no good! She continued laughing and said I had done something wrong and there was no use of trying to fix it! She then requested vienna sausages, seriously!
Chrissy is such a hoot.
Chrissy's Moments 
Posted by Oh Dear on September 29, 2009 at 3:41 am
So funny!! Did she try it with ketchup? 🙂
Posted by momsbrain on September 30, 2009 at 2:00 pm
I was just glancing at some old posts on my blog and found your comment from May. I am sorry I didn't respond! It referred to the HBO special, and you talked about the fence in your yard. It is so nice that your mother can cook with you. My mom and I color sometimes together, and I have started giving her manicures. I like having activities we can do together, but she's not very good at following instructions at this point. At any rate, I'm glad you see humor in your mother – I laugh a lot with my mom, too, and that is good medicine.
Posted by Emily on October 16, 2009 at 3:19 pm
HA! (sad to admit) but i like vienna sausages too! 🙂
Posted by Rachel Olsen on October 23, 2009 at 6:42 pm
This is awesome – you and your mom cooking together. That just warms my heart like a hot apple crisp or a hot bowl of soup. 🙂 So glad my soup recipe worked for her!Blessings ~ Rachel