Goulash

Both of my parents cook. My father is the 'follow the recipe' type cook, who's limit is the staples of my families diet. My mother is the 'fly by the seat of your pants' cook, who might follow a recipe or just throw something in a fry pan. When I was young, my mother would work late, so it was my father who had to get dinner on the table. Of course my sister and I would help. The helping then turned to me making full meals (my dad's a great at delegating). 

There are many one 'pot' meals that I grew up on. Chile, mac and cheese (old fashioned cream style), Tuna noodle (my least favorite), meat loaf, and of course goulash. I'm not really sure who first invented goulash. I think its a Hungarian dish (my family is not hungarian). However, it is one of my favorite family dishes. It is one of the few things that my dad didn't really need a recipe for. When ever I make this dish it reminds me of home. Of arguing with my sister about what to make for dessert. My dad 'testing' the food while we waited for mom to get home so we could eat. The way the dog would sit very attentive while we moved the food around, hoping that we would drop something for him to lap up.

It took me till junior year of college before I realized how many people didn't know how to cook. By that point I would just randomly throw things together like my mom, or find recipe's to follow like my dad. I thought most people knew the basics. That you put a little oil and salt in water your setting to cook noodles in. That biscuits are best if you don't fuss with them too much. And most importantly that butter makes everything taste amazing. How could it be that so many people didn't know how to make basic food?

Which leads me back to goulash. There is no one recipe. My families is simple: onions, ground beef, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and mac noodles. But other recipes have potatoes, veggies, and a ton of others things. I normally do a spin off my families recipe to include some kind of green veggie, like spinach or peas. I also like mine spicy, with a lot of chili pepper. However how you make goulash is not really important. The important part is that there is no real recipe, that you can follow your instincts, change it up, and try something new. And yet I'm sure that with most recipes that vary from family to family, the recipe you start with is the most important. 

My family lives in the kitchen. We are a cook together, eat together, and laugh together group of ruffians. With all six of us at the dinner table, there is usually more laughter and talking then eating. Its not that the food is not important, believe me we love food, its that our family recipe is about just that. Family.