Sunday, February 26, 2017

Cooking and Love Bugs...


The other day I was chatting with my mom, asking her about what she had put in her spaghetti sauce.  “Well, honey, I think I sautéed some onions and peppers along with some garlic, and then of course the usual, like tomato sauce.  Plus it seems like there were some leftovers in the fridge that wouldn’t really fight with the sauce, so I added those too, although for the life of me I don’t have a clue now what they were.  Oh well, you know me…“she said as she brushed off my inquiry.  Yes, I do know her well, and the sauce was great.  But, I knew I would never be able to recreate that culinary improvisation, nor would she, so I had to let another thing go and just move on.  However, just for the record, it irks me that she can still clearly remember that time in high school thirty five odd years ago when I wore a halter top to school and the administration called her to complain, but I digress….

Anyway, we sort of have a motto at our house…the good news is if you don’t like something you will probably never have it again since none of us pay attention to what we throw into the pot.  On the flip side, if you really like it, unfortunately you will never get to have it again either.  So far it seems to have worked for us as a family, but has caused undue stress when it comes time to cooking for company.  We only have a few brave friends left... 

We chatted a bit more about the non-recipe for her spaghetti sauce, but soon the conversation segued into a discussion of our trip the next day to the Everglades and whose car we would take since neither of us really wanted to come back with our vehicle smeared with love bug bodies all over the hood and windows and on into the radiator.  Casually thinking out loud I said “I wonder if this is love bug season right now?”  My mom immediately and in a very authoritative voice stated that love bugs have three seasons in Florida, one in the spring, one in late summer and again in December.  My first thought as she uttered that last word was not one of support, such as “wow, how cool that you know that!”  It was more like, “where on earth did you come up with that unrelated tidbit of info?”  When she makes sweeping declarations about things I’m pretty sure she knows nothing about I am immediately suspicious of their veracity.
 
My second reaction was to contradict her as I thought, "how is it that my mom even has a clue about the love bug hatching and breeding seasons when she has never paid attention to that kind of thing in her life?  How can she not remember her spaghetti sauce recipe she is in the process of making as we speak, and yet seem so confident about this entomological information she is spouting off as if she had a degree in bug science?I am so confused.
I never know what to believe anymore since half the time these theories are plucked out of mid-air and totally off course.  Other times they are so spot on in categories I didn’t even know she knew anything about.  She leaves me in a constant state of wonder!

A quick trip to Google and damn if she wasn’t correct about the love bugs!  April/May, late summer, and December.

Who knew?  …besides my mother of course.  There you have it, in writing.  She was right and I was wrong to doubt her.  When will I ever learn!


2 comments:

  1. You are so multi-talented, Cynthia!!! Love it !!

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  2. Thank you so much! Just now seeing this comment or I would have responded sooner!

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