Food and love go together for life

Food and love go together.

Deny it if you wish, but it's a fact of life.

Baby robins or eaglets in their nests, coyote or bear cubs in their dens - all babies need the love of parents, especially the mother. This is true even with pairs where the father shares the responsibility and will take over and raise the young if the female is injured or killed.

Courting males often present females with tidbits of food. Watch a rooster calling hens when he finds food. Watch the hen calling her brood when she finds food. Mated pairs forage for food to bring home to feed the babies they love.

Courting humans often use going out to dinner together as part of the dating process. During this time, they get to know each other before they decide to marry.

If they marry and become a family, it becomes the mother's loving duty to make certain that the family is properly nourished. This means choosing and preparing foods the family can afford, that fill the family's dietary needs with foods that the entire family enjoys.

A large part of that job requires a mother to really learn to choose and cook simple, basic foods into tasty, savory, well-balanced meals.

As always, that is easier said than done.

For the parent who cares, home economy classes and basic food charts show the way to balanced meals. Many successful recipes are simple, easily prepared dishes.

Good cooks are almost always happy to share these successful recipes. Savory usually has to do with the proper use of herbs and spices. Watch in papers and magazines for these simple basic recipes.

When beginners use simple recipes and gain experience and confidence, they will find it is fun and satisfying to experiment. Often, they will come up with recipes of their own to enjoy and to share.

Then, they will truly be cooking from the heart.