Eggs, Avocados, and Underdogs | My First Memory of Cooking
Ronald Reagan had just been elected to be our next president, The Muppet Show was on the air, and the Dukes of Hazard were jumping something in their General Lee each week. The year was 1980. Mom and I lived in a little rented house near the railroad tracks on Ponderosa Dr in Valdosta GA.
It was Saturday morning and mom was still asleep. I of course had been awake for hours (probably only 30 minutes) watching Satuday Morning Cartoons. I was not your average kid. No brothers or sisters to tell me no or distract me made me a really observant fellow at the age of 5. I’d watched my mom and my Grandmother (affectionately known as Skinny Granny) make my favorite food a thousand times. Scrambled eggs.
“Why couldn’t I do it?” I thought.
I got a chair from the dinette set and slid it across our linoleum floor over to the stove. I pulled the 8 inch cast iron skillet from the cabinet and put it on the stove. I tip-toed over to the fridge and made it back with my 1 egg and the butter. I climbed down and got a spoon to stir my fluffy meal and a plate to put my treat on when it was done.
We had an electric avocado stove that had these off-white push button starts. They were like the ones on an old blender. I pushed the one that I remembered my mom pushing to make me an egg and felt it click into place. The eye of the stove began to smoke a little and then stopped. Obviously a little oil of some kind. This was normal so I wasn’t worried.
“Just a dab of butter” I told the kitchen as if it were listening.
As the butter melted, I cracked and scrambled my eggs. Pouring them into the pan at just the right moment after checking with just a little egg to see if he pan was hot.
“If the pan isn’t hot, they’ll stick” I remembered my mom saying.
I stirred and stirred. Flipped and folded. All of this just like my mother and my Skinny Granny had done for me before. In just a minute or two, they were done. I plated the scrambled eggs, turned of the stove, and pushed the pan to the back burner. All of this was imitation.
I fixed my glass of milk and took my eggs to the living room to finish watching Underdog.
I got in trouble, I remember, but it was in my blood then. I loved cooking.
To this day I have an affection for scrambled eggs, avocado colored stoves, and the Underdog the Cartoon.
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April Maas:
Said on 2012/05/15
My nephew is out of control!
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Said on 2012/05/14
Omg thanks a lot Ryan for making me cry! Punkie Brewster your Auntie and Uncle...
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Ryan McKinney:
Said on 2012/05/08
Forgot to mention Bible Study is tonight. Andria Corral officiating!
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Said on 2012/05/04
Gabby is a good motivator.
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Said on 2012/04/29
YOU WIN! You are the proud winner of a chicken dinner ;)