When I was in Grade 8, I took Family Studies with Mrs. Robertson. I was never very good at the cooking side of things but it amazes me how much I learned that year has stuck with me, like how to measure flour and how to cut cucumbers into pretty shapes and how mother-hard it is to knead bread dough.

One thing we learned was how to put together a good, well-rounded meal. That’s something I really suck at, but I’m improving. I remember that one of the keys to a good meal was to vary the colour palette. We had a test one time where we had to pick out what was wrong with each of several featured meals, and one of the meals had the problem that everything was the same colour. Unattractive = less tasty, I guess.

The other night I made dinner for Gal Smiley and then, as usual, broke everything into small pieces and sprinkled it on her high chair tray. I noticed she was having macaroni noodles, grated mozzarella cheese, cauliflour pieces, and cubes of canned pear. Everything was white!

I’m so sorry, Mrs. Robertson.