Partner content: Kitchen hacks worthy of mom

Written by blogger and writer Sharon Waugh

Last year, when I asked my mom what she wanted to do for lunch on Mother’s Day, I was expecting her to tell me which restaurant she wanted to visit. Instead, she said that I didn’t have to go to any trouble, I could “just whip her up something myself. “Just?” My mom is an amazing cook. How on earth could I ever live up to her level of cooking? Couldn’t I “just” take her to a fancy restaurant? A really expensive one with a renowned chef? Was I even capable of whipping up a meal worthy of someone so special? 

I know my mother really enjoys a good roast chicken so, as I am not the best cook, I used my spare time to watch several (hundred) YouTube videos on how to make the perfect roast chicken. Then, when Mother’s Day finally arrived, I put all my newly acquired cooking knowledge to the test and I still managed to burn it, didn’t I? 

With my mother’s scheduled arrival at my house minutes away, I was in trouble. It was too late to book a restaurant, so I ran to the shops and bought a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken – which is what I should have done in the first place. With the little time left at my disposal to complete the meal, McCain really saved my bacon … or, at least, my chicken.

Fortunately, the rest of the meal went exactly as planned. To go with the roast, I bought two of McCain’s Heat ‘n Eat Veggie Sides: Creamed Spinach – “to grow big and strong”, as my mother always used to say – and perfectly smooth and tasty Mashed Butternut. Some might consider forcing your parents to eat their veggies as revenge for all the times they did it to you, but it’s not revenge if it tastes this good!

I completed the plate with some sweet potato fries. My mom thought she was being clever when she used to add rosemary to ones she made for me growing up, but McCain also thought of that – and they added some garlic too. Yum! I must say, making McCain’s Sweet Potato Fries instead of chopping them myself did feel like cheating, but when I think of how my mom has always cheated at card games, I didn’t feel so bad.

Then, as a reward, not just for eating all her vegetables but for everything she does for me, I whipped up a Beetroot Ice Cream Delight. You would think that it would be really hard to make ice cream but, with diced beetroot from McCain, half the work is already done. I just added a few other simple ingredients, and voila! Even I got it right!

The flowers I ordered for my mom went to the wrong address, the dog ate the chocolate I bought for her, and the heartfelt video message I got my brother (on the other side of the country) to send her would not download, but she said the lunch was perfect! “It was as if I had made it myself,” she said, “but just a tiny bit better.” “I made it all from scratch,” I replied. 

She’s coming over for lunch again this year, but this time I have everything under control. My freezer is fully stocked with a range of exciting goodies. I must just remember to hide the McCain bags – wink, wink.

For delicious recipes with McCain’s extensive range of frozen vegetables, go to: https://www.mccain.co.za/retail/recipes.