I'm up to page 324 of Julia Child's memoir, My Life in France. It's a fabulous book about her travels around Europe with her husband, Paul, and her ascension to the role of French Chef we all grew to know and love.
For those who may not know a lot of back story on Julia or her first cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking was a 10 year endeavor among she and two friends. Julia rifled through French recipe after French recipe to not only translate the language, but also the measurements, food types and cooking times.
Julia as a self-professed experimenter and loved to spend hours in her kitchen "lab" perfecting a buerre blanc, a roast or a roux. When she and her friends finally started to market and tour with their published cookbook, Julia was flabbergasted at the American way of cooking: quick, fast and without much effort.
Julia adored the French way of cooking: slow and methodical with everything having a purpose. With all due respect to Ms. Child, I much rather prefer my American way of cooking -- quick, somewhat homemade; somewhat store bought but tasty and finished between 6-7 p.m.
I would venture to think most American parents are like me: rushed for time and willing to cook homemade meals so long as it doesn't require too much prep time.
For dinner time at our house, we tend to go with prepackaged or frozen meats heated up just in time for dinner (chicken breasts, turkey burgers, pork chops) and some fresh fruit and veggies for our sides. It's a nice, healthy hybrid that makes everyone happy -- including Chef Mom.
I love to experiment with my cooking but I admit there are only a few instances in the year where I allow myself the time to break out the roasting pan and extra special cooking equipment.
Reading this book, I'm left to wonder if Julia would have become the French Chef had she had a house full of kids and a company to run. Would we now be reading the American's Guide to Quick French Cooking or nothing at all? I
