Burnt Offerings

How can someone tell that a meal was “prepared with love”?

Who can say what food tastes of love in its preparation?  Some people struggle with cooking, and they still make the sacrifice for their families. Tasting love is a matter of sacrifice rather than flavor. 

It’s very much like that scene from the end of“Woman of the Year” starring Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracey. Hepburn returns to her husband’s home after neglecting him for politics and does her best to be a regular housewife, attempting miserably to fix a decent breakfast. Her incompetence in the kitchen is obvious, but her love is equally demonstrated by her effort.

A typical scene at my house:

Dad elbows me with a wink, plopping his lunch box onto the kitchen table as the kitchen window is flung open to clear the air, “Burnt offerings again?”

Mom’s frustration is punctuated by a slicing glare. My dad’s teasing is not appreciated, especially after she just spent an hour getting dinner ready only to have her side dish “spoiled.”

When my mom’s dishes spoil, it is still edible the majority of the time. Honestly, my mom rarely burns anything. She is the most incredible cook I have ever had the privilege to enjoy. She uses simple recipes, flavorful ingredients, and she has unparalleled talent in the kitchen. My dad’s teasing is a result of a very few incidents throughout her cooking experiences.

I want to be a woman – a wife – like my mom. Every meal, everything she does is with love. I have never seen someone love as much as my mom. Dad is so confident in her love that he sees even her mistakes as love – including her “burnt offerings.”

All my life I’ve known my mom to give my dad the best of everything. If a dish wasn’t his favorite, it didn’t enter the house. He got the biggest portion, the largest plate, his choice of beverage, and his approval of her food is always the surest sign of her happiness. Of course, my brother and I mattered too, but my mother’s love is demonstrated to my dad through food. Her sacrifice of love includes her rarely eating some of her favorite foods. She splurges occasionally and gets something just for her.

If there’s anything my dad doesn’t enjoy it’s squash and zucchini. One night for dinner, my mom made one of dad’s favorites, and on the side she cooked herself a small squash casserole – one of her favorites. My dad took the serving spoon and dipped out some of the squash onto his plate and my mom gasped, “That’s for me, you won’t like that!”

Dad shrugged, “You made it, I might as well try it.”

Everything my mom prepares is made with affection and care, and you sure can taste it! But it is more about the sacrifice she makes daily to prepare something enjoyable and good for her family. That’s why my mom is “Woman of the Year” every year to me. She truly exemplifies the quality of woman it takes to be loving – sacrificing time, effort, and energy to make others’ lives more pleasant.