Twin Cities mom adds dashes of wisdom and love as she teaches son to cook

Jump to recipes: Six recipes from a mother's journal

Many evenings last year, my son Isaac arrived home from work as I finished making dinner. He pulled up a stool and we talked about nothing — and everything.

Then 19, Isaac was working hard during a gap year after high school. I was lonesome after months of remote work, and those evenings were an unexpected COVID silver lining.

Then, in early March, he told me that he and his friends had signed a lease. He would move out April 1.

"Well," he told me, "I guess I have a month to learn how to cook."

Another silver lining.

So, once or twice a week during that last precious month, no matter how tired we were, Isaac and I made dinner together.

We started with one of his favorites: Spaghetti with red sauce and Italian sausage. We talked about the importance of mis en place, the pros and cons of fresh and dried basil, how to stir in the browned bits of sausage in the pan for added flavor, and how a twist of the serving tongs and a sprinkle of cheese make each plate a little more beautiful. We made garlic bread and a nice green salad, and we enjoyed it all together.

It will be years before Isaac masters the art of figuring out what to make for dinner, so as the weeks progressed, I chose dishes I thought he'd enjoy, and that included a skill I thought he needed to take with him — peeling garlic, prepping herbs, handling meat safely.

We made shrimp scampi, Thai peanut noodles with chicken, scratch tomato soup. My husband, Jeff, took one evening, sharing his recipe for Dad's "mystery meat" tacos (the secret is not taco seasoning but jarred salsa and a pinch of cumin).

We tried a few beverage pairings, and learned that inexpensive Champagne with baked macaroni and cheese made for a festive Tuesday night supper.

I bought a journal and started writing down recipes for not only the dishes we made together, but of other favorites, too, like pancakes, pesto pasta and homemade Caesar dressing. I adapted recipes from favorite cookbooks and websites, and from my own memory. I solicited recipes from other family members, so the book also includes Grandma's fudge nutty bars, Nana's wild rice soup and Papa's papas fritas (fried potatoes).

About three weeks in, as we prepared the shrimp for scampi, Isaac turned to me and said urgently, "We should be writing this down!"

I laughed.

In the case of one requested recipe — chicken korma — I got a quarter of the way through a complicated recipe before writing, "OMG. I'll make this for you. Crazy."

I peppered the book with advice (MOMWOW = Mom Words of Wisdom), like "Don't stress about entertaining. Keep it simple and enjoy your guests," and lists, like what to always have in your refrigerator and what to always have in your utensil and spice drawer. I taped in photos I took of some of the meals we made together. There are crossings-out and notes in the margins — he also would make mistakes, I wrote, adding "Laugh them off and try again."

Despite my hope that it was all an elaborate April Fool's joke, Isaac moved April 1. He took the recipe book with him.

The first time he made baked mac and cheese, he called several times to ask clarifying questions. Then he sent me a photo of a table full of roommates ready to devour it, and then impossibly soon thereafter, another of the scraped-clean baking pan.

So, Isaac knows how to follow a recipe. He can uniformly chop onions. He can julienne carrots, make a Béchamel sauce and roll out a tortilla.

It's been almost a year now that Isaac has mostly been feeding himself. Recently he called me because he was making spaghetti and couldn't find a recipe for garlic bread. I walked him through it as I sliced a baguette as part of my own supper.

"I get it," he told me. "You left some stuff out so I'd call you more often."

I didn't, but I like the way he thinks.

MOMWOW (Mom's words of wisdom)

• Eat vegetables so you don't get SCURVY!

• Just because two things taste good, that doesn't mean they taste good together.

• Good ingredients are more important than fancy china.

• Take good care of your knives and cookware.

• Women dig a man who can cook!

• If you cook, someone else can clean the bathroom.

• And a bonus DADWOW, by way of Benjamin Franklin: Patience makes the sauce.

Minestrone or 'Pizza Soup'

Serves 8, plus leftovers.

Note: My boys weren't picky eaters; still, I found I had more success getting them to try something new if I tied it to something they knew. A tip: Don't ever mix the pasta into your soup. It gets mushy and expands until you end up with soup hot dish. Instead, serve the soup in your bowl and stir in noodles as desired. From Maria Elena Baca.

• 1 lb. hot Italian sausage or 1 (12-oz.) pkg. protein crumbles plus 1/2 tsp. fennel seeds

• 1 onion, chopped

• 1 carrot, chopped

• 1 stalk celery, chopped

• 4 c. chicken or vegetable stock

• 1 (15-oz.) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained

• 1 (15-oz.) can chickpeas beans, rinsed and drained

• 1 (16-oz.) pkg. small pasta

• 1 c. frozen peas

• 1/2 package of frozen peas

• 1/2 tsp. dried basil

• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano

Directions

In a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, cook the sausage until it's no longer pink. Remove sausage from the pan, along with most of the fat. (If you are using meat crumbles, start by heating 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the soup pot.)

Cook the onion, celery and carrot until the onion is translucent and the carrot is starting to become tender. Stir frequently.

Return the sausage to the pot. Add beans, protein crumbles, if using, and the stock, and bring to a simmer.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to package instructions. Drain and set it aside.

Crush the herbs in your hands and sprinkle into the soup. Stir, and add salt and pepper to taste. Ladle soup into bowls, and add cooked noodles as desired. Top with grated Parmesan before serving.

Home Fries

Serves 6.

From Maria Elena Baca.

• 5 lb. small red potatoes

• 2 to 3 tbsp. olive oil

• Salt and pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment.

Wash and dry potatoes. Cut them into quarters or eighths, depending on the size. They should be about two-bite size.

Toss with olive oil. Space out on baking sheet; season with salt and pepper.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until brown on the outside and fluffy on the inside. Serve with ketchup or sour cream.

Buttermilk Pancakes

Serves 6.

Note: To make blueberry pancakes, drop 5 or 6 frozen berries onto the wet batter immediately after pouring it onto the pan. Adapted from "The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook."

• 2 c. flour

• 2 tbsp. sugar

• 2 tsp. baking powder

• 1/2 tsp. baking soda

• 1/2 c. powdered buttermilk

• 1/2 tsp. salt

• 1 egg

• 3 tbsp. butter, melted and cooled, plus additional butter for the pan

• 2 c. milk or water

Directions

Preheat oven to 175 degrees and warm a griddle or large frying pan over medium heat.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, powdered buttermilk and salt.

In a smaller bowl, combine egg, melted butter and milk or water.

Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk to combine. If the batter seems too thick, stir in a bit of water. Do not overmix.

Check the pan's heat by dripping a drop of water onto it. It should sizzle. Pick up a bit of butter on your spatula and swirl it around the pan.

Pour batter by the ¹⁄₃ cupful into the pan. Flip the pancake when the top is bubbly and the bottom is brown. Cook another few minutes, checking to make sure both sides are brown. When you think it's done, ensure your heat isn't too high by cutting into a pancake with the corner of the spatula to ensure it is cooked inside. Move finished cakes onto a plate in the oven. Repeat until all the batter is used.

Serve with more butter and warm maple syrup.

Spaghetti

Serves 6.

From Maria Elena Baca.

• 1 lb. hot Italian sausage

• 1 medium onion, diced

• 3 cloves of garlic, minced

• 2 (28-oz.) cans crushed tomatoes

• Salt and pepper

• 1 (16-oz.) pkg. pasta

• Olive oil

• Parmesan cheese

Directions

In a large skillet, brown the sausage until it's not pink. Remove with a spoon.

Pour off most of the fat, and sauté onion until translucent, then add garlic. Sauté 2 more minutes.

Add sausage back in, plus tomatoes. Cook off extra liquid, about 10 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package instructions. Strain and return to the pot. Add sauce to the pasta until it's perfectly saucy. Transfer to a large serving dish and top with another scoop of sauce, grated Parmesan and a swirl of olive oil.

Garlic Bread

Serves 6.

From Maria Elena Baca.

• 1 baguette or Italian loaf

• 4 tbsp. (1/2 stick) butter, softened

• 1 clove of garlic, minced

• Salt and pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cut the loaf into 1-inch slices.

In a small bowl, use a fork to combine butter, garlic, salt and pepper. Spread on each slice.

Wrap the loaf in aluminum foil and transfer to the oven. Heat for 15 minutes, or until the bread is warm and the butter is melted.

Tostadas

Serves 6.

Note: Tostada shells are flat, hard corn tortillas.

• 6 tostada shells

• 1 (15-oz.) can refried pinto or black beans

• 1 c. shredded Colby jack or crumbled cotija cheese

• Guacamole, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, salsa, chopped red or green onions for topping

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Smear each tostada shell generously with beans and place them on a baking sheet. Sprinkle tostadas with cheese.

Bake 7 to 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and beginning to brown. Add toppings of choice and eat with your fingers.

Maria Elena Baca is a writer who also cooks in Minnetonka.