Jock Mackenzie | Article Virginia Quist | Photos

“ Are you kidding ? You ’ ll cook supper every second night ?” My wife ’ s reaction was memorable — one of shock .

I don ’ t recall just how the promise originated , but I ’ d made it . It was too late to take it back — and I didn ’ t really want to . I ’ d never been much of a cook , but I do enjoy a challenge .

Sharing seemed fair . We do so many other things together : golfing , skiing , housework , yard work , walking the dog . And the joy my proposal received was beyond my expectations . Simple plan — whoever cooked didn ’ t clean up . Cook every second night . But what to cook ? A bit of history is in order . I ’ d never really “ cooked .” I ’ d barbecued , but often just the meat part of a dinner . The rest of the meal just miraculously appeared on the table . Okay , I did tackle the boxed mac ’ n ’ cheese , but its preparation resulted in gales of laughter when my adult kids visited . They saw me following the “ boil six cups of water ” instruction on the box .

I started small . I ’ d barbecue the meat ( usually a rotation of chicken , pork chops , steak , hamburger ), do some variety of potato ( boiled , mashed , sliced and barbecued in foil ), then add a vegetable ( often heated in the microwave ). It got a bit boring — but it worked .

Then , I discovered these things called recipe books . I soon learned that not all of them had the likes of me as their intended audience . Many were

intended for chefs , not wannabelate-to-the-party dudes . Jan had an excellent collection of Best of Bridge recipe books , a series written by women in Calgary and quite the rage many moons ago . They ’ re classics .

Perhaps even better were online recipes . These often had the advantage of videos that showed the stepby-step process . Wow ! My favourite site has been

Inspired Taste . A couple from Washington State have a delicious array of tasty and relatively straightforward dishes for all parts of a meal — soup to nut bread . A favourite that I ’ ve made several times is their Cheesy Apple Stuffed Pork Chops .

But talk is cheap . It was easy enough to say that I ’ d cook every second night — but did I ? Yes ! It ’ s a bit like the old joke — Question : “ How do you remember your wife ’ s birthday ?” Answer : “ Just forget it once .” And the next part was routine . I quickly got into the habit and soon became intrigued with a bit of one-upmanship .

Jan is and has always been an excellent cook . I couldn ’ t consistently outdo her , but I did have moments of brilliance . And her admiration and wonder at my efforts were incentives . Add to this the every-other-day joy of not having to do the dishes — delightful !

26 | arta . net LET ’ S GET COOKING