With Christmas coming up, I want to pay homage to my mother-in-law’s holiday traditions to carry on her memory in our hearts (and our kitchen!) each year. Last year, the loss of Cathie was a fresh wound, but this year we found ourselves able to pull out her multitude of holiday decorations to display part of her impressive Santa and angel collections. As an avid cook, I also wanted to give Shane a taste of his childhood Christmases, and when I asked him what that would entail, he answered immediately: classic Chex mix. I have used her inspiration to develop two Chex mix recipes filled with holiday flavors—one savory, and one sweet.
Fancy Cheese Friday – Easy Date Night!
One of my last vivid memories with Cathie while she was on hospice care was taking her grocery shopping at Whole Foods. It was bittersweet to hear her comment on how she wished she had discovered the store sooner because she really liked their eclectic selection.
Most of all, I cherished talking with her about how she loved “shopping the perimeter” of the store for fresh ingredients, a food philosophy that really sums up the heart of her cooking. After we grabbed some produce to go with her favorite mango salad dressing, we took her over to the meat counter. There she relayed the right way to cook pork loin and salmon to give them the perfect texture and flavor. She apologized for talking about it because we’re vegetarian, but we didn’t care, especially since we were always happy to hear her talk about food so passionately.
After we left the meat counter, an employee in the cheese section handed us samples of grilled halloumi, a hard goat cheese that was perfectly caramelized from the grilling process. It beckoned her to invite it into her kitchen, and she cooked it at least two times that I know of in the short month she had left with us.
It is in her honor that we recently decided to reinstate a monthly date night tradition we used to do as a couple several years ago. The name is a silly alliteration, but it’s a fantastic (and delicious!) bonding experience. Fancy Cheese Friday is an ever-changing assortment of whatever cheeses, fruits, breads, spreads, and wines we decide to throw together. We buy what beckons us, as the halloumi beckoned Cathie that afternoon, and we happily explore the decadence of the ingredients and the excitement of pairing new foods.
Cathie’s Signature Orzo with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Capers
Cathie was one of those rare cooks who could open up a pantry, grab a handful of ingredients, and craft something incredible on the spot. I’m certain that’s exactly how she came up with this recipe. I’ve actually had to experiment with it to get it just right, even though she wrote it down for us a few years ago. She wasn’t quite sure of the exact measurements, and I love that—as all of us with mothers and grandmothers who were magic in the kitchen know, the best family meals are often eyeballed, improvised, and “just-a-dash”-ed to perfection.
When I started dating my husband while he was in law school, he would often drive to his mom’s house on the weekends to visit her. Almost without fail, he came back with a huge container of this orzo to feed him for the next several days. It was, and it still is, his biggest comfort food. To him, it tastes like home. To him, it tastes like a mother’s love.
What makes Just Divine Cooking special?
Well, it’s just divine…
If you’re looking for a health food blog, you’re probably in the wrong place. That’s not to say none of the food is healthy—I truly love colorful and crunchy vegetables, and you’ll find me using them often!
But JDC is an ode to the decadent, the rich, the creamy, the satiating… It’s an ode to food that is just divine.
Just Divine Cooking 