Linda Henley said, “If God had intended us to follow recipes, He wouldn't have given us grandmothers.”
Monaca Robinson, 39, of Cochran, understands that statement better than anyone. Robinson, a procurement tech at Robins Air Force Base, married, mother of four, said, “All of my grandmothers were great cooks, but my main one is my Mama. She has always cooked for her family, as well as many others. Nothing ever comes out of a box at my Mama's. It is all homemade!”
Robinson, herself, cooks from “memory. I do use recipes sometimes, but I often tweak them to make the food better.”
Cooking is one of Robinson's main hobbies. A former stand-out cheerleader as a student at Bleckley County High School, the former Monaca Bryant enjoys taking trips with her husband, Matt, going to the beach and laying by the pool. But cooking has become her “escape and stress reliever … I often go in the kitchen and throw things together. I love trying new recipes.”
Though she says that she really doesn't “watch much television, but if I did, it would be Paula Dean. I love her southern recipes. I think she would be the one I would invite to dinner. I would love to talk with her about how she went from serving meals to a company, to having her own businesses and cooking shows.”
Robinson became more involved with cooking when “a few years ago, our pastor and his wife were leaving our church and she was always in charge of cooking for the church on Wednesday nights. I started helping and when they left, I stepped up to the plate to take it over. I have always enjoyed cooking for others, and when my daughter left for college, I decided to try and do it more often and for more people.” She has even made up her own menu.
She said, “I love cooking a good homemade meal - Meat, vegetables, the whole meal. I prefer not to bake, but will do it at times.”
Robinson said her favorite meal would be “marinated chicken in Italian dressing, green beans, mashed potatoes and cucumber salad.”
She said, “I prefer to cook alone, you can ask anyone in my house and they will tell you that when I am cooking, no one needs to be in the kitchen. That is one of my biggest pet peeves. I do love cooking with my husband, he is a pretty good cook too.”
One ingredient that can be found always in Robinson's house would be cream cheese. “I always try and keep cream cheese in the house. It makes everything better … that and sugar … I use it in most of my food.”
And she can't do without her “food processor. It does so many things and makes cooking so much easier.”
Food, according to Robinson, can be “harmful and helpful. It depends on how we choose to consume it. I try not to eat very much at a time and try to stay away from fried foods.”
She said, “I will not touch chitterlings … they are gross to me, and they stink so bad too.”
Robinson has been known to experiment though in her tasting. “The weirdest thing I have eaten was when Matt and I were on our honeymoon in the Dominican Republic, and there were often things on the buffets that we had no idea what they were … so who know what it was.” She claims to be a “picky eater.”
To reward herself though, Robinson said, “I think I would choose chocolate over peanut butter, I like to have a little 'reward' once in awhile, after trying to eat good.”
Cooking is “my way of giving to people and making them happy.”
For more information contact Monaca at momariesmenu@yahoo.com.
Comments