On the Cook's Role

Bustling around the kitchen between tall towers of teenagers, slipping between various witty and congenial males gathered around the kitchen island, lounging against the sink for a little beer and conversation, hovering over the menagerie of cats, preening and newsy, presiding over a brisk telephone, moderating checkers and other debates, the cook at my house must be agile and quick, must have good balance and a firm plan for occasional reference.

Usually it means dancing two or so dances at once, making them into a single piece of work.

The position of cook is not for the wan or irresolute. If we are what we eat, if armies--and the rest of us--travel on our stomachs, if the home is the heart and the hope of the nation, if the kitchen is the heart of the home, if the clean plate club exists, if the servant is truly the master, then the home cook is in a place of real power.

And I say we claim it.

The cook is trusted. Eating is intimate business. Ingesting food is our most common exchange with the natural world. Practically, symbolically, the cooks everywhere provide the medium.

Cajoled, buttered up, taken for granted, teased, smothered with suggestions, the family cook enjoys a rightful glimpse of glory now and again when the family offers a compliment, or the oohs and aahs are especially zesty.

To please one's family is, in a quiet way, spectacularly satisfying. One gets lovely, incomparable little kisses and left-handed praise from the members. One is hugged and patted and compared favorably with other cooks.

Heady with magnanimity, they might even offer to clean up whilst the cook sits down to read. And the cook, usually the clean-up boss as well, might forego the opportunity for bonding that dish washing affords, and take them up on it, greatly pleased. It is well deserved.

Because cooking is work, albeit neutral or pleasant for the most part. It entails thinking and plotting, politics, sentiment, shopping, injecting a quotients of variety and style, a modest rhythm of treats and favorites. Then there are the tasks of washing and chopping, measuring, timing,etc.

It is not--as a friend of mine once said about being a good person--the idea of it, that part is easy. It is the dailiness that makes the challenge poignant and significant, profound.

So if you are in the cook's role, or if you are on the cook's roster, try, for an easy spicy breakfast, Huevos Rancheros, furled.

To serve four, chop and sauté in butter in a 10" skillet:

1/2 C. green pepper

1/2 C. onion

l tsp. fresh garlic.

When tender, add:

6 eggs, slightly beaten

1/4 C. fresh salsa

dash of salt

1/2 tsp. cumin

Add cayenne here if you like it.

Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until eggs are set.

Remove from heat and add 1 C. Jack, Jalapeno Jack or cheddar cheese.

Have ready (1 minute in the microwave, wrapped in a damp towel, works fast, or bake on a hot skillet with no oil):

4 hot flour tortillas

Wrap egg mixture in tortillas, adding more cheese, chopped olives, more salsa, cilantro, guacamole, sour cream, as you like it.

Serve with oranges and plain fluffy rice.

Now. Take the cook out for dinner.