Food Gifts from a Special Chef

Yes, my sister and niece arrived from BC last week. Elsie came for a little visit by herself on Thursday morning. I was soon reminded of what I knew; she is a take-charge kind of person. (She urged me to consider moving into a seniors' complex.)

On Friday afternoon she arrived with Jalise and they carried arms-full of groceries from Costco into the kitchen. Then Elsie got down to her plan to show me how to cook/prepare large quantities of food in one day, and put them in the freezer in single portion amounts so that I would just need to defrost/heat up a portion, and have a meal ready.

However, Elsie had a headache and had promised to bring something to a friend who was house-sitting her son's house here, so they promised to be back the next day for a big cooking binge.

Saturday they arrived a bit earlier, and went to work!

Clearly, Elsie has not forgotten all that she learned when she worked part-time in the Rosthern Nursing Home kitchen, while going to high school, and then after training in Kelsey (Community College) for professional food services, after which she had jobs in charge of two hospital kitchens. (Rosthern & Nipawin).

Jalise proved she had done this before, as she knew exactly what to do when her Mom said, Prepare the sauce, or ... whatever.

I tried to watch and understand, finding large bowels, spoons, etc., as they combined things, and called for these items. Elsie dropped a large batch of ground hamburger meat into my largest stainless steel bowel and added chopped onions, garlic cloves, (which she oven-roasted first), etc, while I fetched.

Soon Elsie was patting a large meatloaf into an oval casserole dish, forming meatballs and lining them up on two cookie sheets to bake,...and on and on.

(I'm afraid I can't provide much detail as things blurred in my mind; so much happening so fast! But I did get to photocopy her handwritten recipes out of her notebook.)

However, we stopped for a mid-afternoon meal, and up and at the work again.

Elsie is convinced that I've shrunk in size, and have poor health because I don't get enough protein, so I have instructions to eat at least 2 eggs a day, and so many oz of meat, etc., or at least 2/3 sardines - 3 times a week. Specially fermented oatmeal is to be mixed in several dishes... and so on.

They came back on Sunday afternoon to finish up the large quantity of special tomato sauce, which I may add to other foods for variety.

They were back once more yesterday morning, to make a good (BIG!) breakfast! Omelettes with feta cheese and micro-greens.

Elsie wanted to accept my offer of green onions, (and some irises), so we dug them up and put them in pots to be transplanted.

Today they are on their way back to BC., with a brief stop in Castor, AB, to visit our uncle and aunt in a Senior's home.

I have many thoughts and feelings to mull through. I'm trying to quiet and prepare myself for the visit from our brother Ernie and his wife from Winnipeg - as they will arrive this coming Sunday, and camp in a nearby RV park.

Ernie instructed me to make a list of jobs I can't do around here, and he will try to do them before they roll westward next Tuesday! (His 2nd oldest grandson graduates from high school mid-June!)

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