Men in aprons

I grew up in a family of eight other siblings and two parents. The responsibility of making our meals fell to mom and from as far back as I can remember she made fresh hot food for my brothers and sisters and I every day. She was able to serve us simple traditional meals of goose, moose or fish caught from the river as well as North American specialties like lasagna, meat loaf and stew. For the longest time I never really gave much thought as to how much work went into preparing a simple meal. When I think about it now, I feel guilty when I think about our table manners. Mom would spend hours to make food for eleven people and then when it was ready, her hard work would disappear in a matter of minutes.

As we grew older, mom encouraged us to learn to make our own meals. We learned as much as we could but she always retained her position at the kitchen counter. We were all happy with just showing up at the table for a great meal. However, as my brothers and sisters and I began our lives away from home, we realized that those little lessons mom provided in the kitchen really helped when we had to feed ourselves.

One obstacle I had to deal with in learning to cook was the cultural idea that only women made the meals at home. In our Cree culture, women were given the task of preparing food. In the past, it was a natural fit as women spent most of their time at home to rear the children so they could spend the day preparing meals. In a world where survival was prominent in the lives of everyone, men took on the role of hunters and gatherers. Both genders were able to work as partners in ensuring that the family survived.

However, the introduction of European technology meant that life was a little easier for everyone. Guns and metal traps and snares meant hunting was not as difficult. Transportation changed from carrying supplies in heavy packs or on dog sled to powered machines. New forms of hunting and gathering made life easier but it also meant that these activities required knowledge and skill rather than brute strength and muscle.

In our modern world, our hunting and gathering ideas are still a reality and women are seen as queens of the kitchen. The roles of men and women are now a little more interchangeable. Either gender is capable of having a job to generate an income to supply all the necessities. Yet, we Cree still have the idea that only women should be in the kitchen.

Thankfully, I think our modern world is changing and more men are taking the extra step to help out in the kitchen. It only makes sense, everyone works equally hard these days, so why don’t we share the duties of making meals? If you try simple and easy to make recipes, cooking can actually be a meditative and relaxing activity that can be very rewarding. What better way to treat everyone in your home than to make them a meal.

Here is one simple recipe that I learned from my friend Alana. She has an Italian heritage and her culture is famous for inventing simple, healthy and tasty meals. She taught me how to make a basic Italian sauce to go with any pasta dish. For enough sauce for one pasta meal you need about a dozen fresh plum tomatoes or one large can of whole plum tomatoes, unseasoned in water; one medium sized onion, a table spoon of olive oil, some basil and salt and pepper. Cut the onion in coarse large bits, cut the tomatoes in half and then gather all the ingredients together in a large pot. Bring the whole pot to a boil and then simmer for about an hour. Then let it cool for a few hours.

When it has cooled, take a hand blender or pour into a food processor and bring to a heavy pulp. This doesn’t take much effort, just a few quick bursts and that should be enough. The best part of this recipe is you can adjust the ingredients in equal proportions to make enough for one dinner or cook up a large pot to last an entire week. If you want to make an even tastier sauce, let it simmer for two or even three hours to let the ingredients reduce to a heavenly texture and palate pleaser.

So if you really want to prove how much of a man you are, try doing it in the kitchen. 

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