Other wise a grand and creative cook, my mother, capable of turning out fine chef quality scrambled eggs, soft and creamy, could not "fry" and egg without turning it into a "crispy critter". Nor, breakfasting a large household, 5 of us plus Dad (when he hadn't left early for rounds or surgery), did she do well with bacon which often suffered the same fate as the fried eggs, charred to a level capable of producing more carcinogens than a un-remedied chemical dump site.

I won't blame her culinary ability for the "Tuna Noodle Casserole", just the times, although the addition of "canned" English Peas (buckshot, not birdshot) lowered the dish to less than subsistence quality, leaving me to parse the dish for the bits of pimento to savor. When you're reduced to enjoying bottled pimento, you're reduced....

But then, a Gulf Coaster reared on deviled crab and crab cakes, she could work wonders with canned salmon, even the cheap pink kind, and even today, I'll occasionally resort to her recipe for salmon patties, deja vu. ....And then there was her coffee, a dark roast Gulf Coast brand, "percolated", served in bowl-like cups mixed with hot "whole" milk (She kept the cream for herself.) and a dollop of cane syrup. At about 10, we came of age to be allowed to enjoy it in the morning.