Mrs. Nagano And The Cooking Class For Men
Last year-end, my husband Ken surprised me saying, “I have just applied
‘Cooking class for men’ today.” I was confused but at the same time delighted a little.
I’m a compulsive re-reader. When I like a book, I want to read it over and over again, to the point where it is hard to make myself buy new ones: I already own so many that I’m happy to infinitely revisit.
I guess I’m the same way with websites. I’ve been blogging at different URLs and for different purposes for nearly 10 years, but there hasn’t been a site I’ve run where I haven’t tipped my hat to Mieko Nagano, a Japanese lady in Oita City who, in 1999, chronicled her husband’s culinary education in an illustrated series entitled “Cooking Class For Men.” I’m not about to break the tradition now.
I always lose the address, and then have to punch all sorts of crazy things into Google until I find it again. When I do, it’s like coming home.
The continuous torrential rain at the end of the rainy season ceased for a while in this Saturday afternoon. My husband came back home with big shopping bags in his hands, saying “I will prepare a tasty dinner tonight for you.”
Mrs. Nagano’s English isn’t terribly idiomatic, but–and I hope I don’t sound too condescending when I say this–it only makes the story that much more charming.
“My husband has been getting better in cooking,” she wrote after Mr. Nagano’s eighth class at the community center, when he learned to fillet sardines. “I am happy indeed.”
Here it is; I hope you’ll like it as much as I do.