A closer observation and appreciation

While staying home this weekend, I did my observation on my mother’s cooking tasks in her daily life. She almost cooks everyday since we have a big family and each of us carries lunch bags to work or school. We also have dinner at home together as family tradition. I would say her cooking is divided in four steps: preparation, cooking, packing and cleaning.

First, she put on her apron and got things out of the refrigerator. She put foods in different section in categories: vegetables, meat, dried food, etc. When I asked why she need to do that, she said: “To keep the food separated and not contaminated with each other, you don’t want to have raw meat and vegetables together.” Along with this explanation, she first cut out the vegetable, and then meat. With the dried food, she took them out of the plastic bag and washed it, depend on what kind it is. She still kept everything separated through out her preparation step. I didn’t realize how often she had washed her hands through out this step.

Cooking is the most interesting and difficult part. “ Don’t describe this in order because cooking is a creative art made by the cooker. You don’t follow any rules in this task. Different people cook in different ways as long as it looks and tastes good,” she explained. As always, she kept the pan in high fire and stirred quickly before everything becoming overcooked. Their some smokes came out of her pan while frying the chicken and she had to turn the fan on. She moved from one pan to another as quickly as a professional chef in a restaurant. It was almost an hour since she got done with her cooking. The whole house smelled like food.

Next, she had lunch bags, containers, carriers, etc. ready on the counter, she then poured the food in each of them, and until now, she still separated the food in different section: chicken, vegetable, soup, and some salad. The foods looked really catchy with different colors and in neat organize. One can’t be hesitated to eat these foods because of its look and smell. After done with packing, she poured the rest of food in the pan into disks and bowls for family dinner. She then organized them neatly on dinner table and had all the utensils ready.

Last but not least, she dumped all the used pan and pot into our kitchen sink and soak them in hot water. While waiting for the water to fill up, she used a towel and some cleaning detergent to wipe off the oil and dirt on the stove and fan. Then she gets back to the sink and washed the disks, pan and pot.

We had a great dinner that day, and almost everyday with good foods and laughter. After this specific time observing my mother in the kitchen, I have noticed how much effort she has been putting into each meal of my family. I have seen her passionate in cooking closer and in depth. By watching my mother cooking, I'm so appreciated for every disk my mother has prepared for me. This observation has painted a vivid and detailed picture of my mother that I will never forget in the rest of my life.