Cooking With The KCS

October 30, 2024

3 minutes read

There are four life’s callings that I hold in the highest regard. Not that others are not important. They are, and all make a difference in the world. I am sure we do not all admire the same people equally. For me, they are nurses, farmers, waitresses, and teachers. I have it on good authority that being a preacher’s wife is not a picnic either. Well, this one for sure is not.

Every so often I am privileged to hear a story, or have an experience, that reminds me why I think what I think about the abovementioned life’s callings. October 16th and 17th were such an experience. It began a few weeks prior. I heard a knock on the door, and upon opening, was greeted by a smiling face of Sean Cey. Sean is an intern at Kindersley High School. He is also a member of my congregation. Sean, like many others, has succumbed to the annoying habit of growing up.

Anyway… Sean asked me, and I quote: “how would you like to come and teach a class on Polish cooking?” I agreed, and we set a tentative schedule to fine-tune the whole affair. Within five minutes of Sean’s leaving, the panic set in. Given the richness of Polish cuisine… what should I tell them about? Which pictures to pick? How much is too much? Will one be too stereotypical and will the other gross them out?! Turned out that was the least of my worries. Picking a recipe that would send Sean shopping and then send the students to their kitchen stations proved to be something else.

I wanted the students to have the opportunity to experience the smell and taste of a dish my mother would have made if they were coming for a casual dinner.

Fast forward past all that and the first class, straight into the cooking day. ŁAZANKI (pron. la-zan-kee) seemed doable. How difficult is boiling pasta, frying bacon with mushrooms and onion, and mixing it all with heated sauerkraut and/or cabbage? Well, the moment three teams of two and one student hit their stations and grabbed the knives, my blood pressure went sky-high. My wife says that is not likely, but I am not so sure.

Suddenly, the students breathed a strange life into the recipe I provided. Onions were being macheted into rough chunks and diced so finely a Michelin-star restaurant would not be ashamed to serve them. Someone tried, I think, to boil pasta from cold water. Someone else came up with a counterintuitive idea to fry the whole strips of bacon instead of dicing it first. It was easier to chop it once crispy—brilliant!

I was in a panic, waiting for spatters of blood and/or grease burns. I was full of doubts as to what it would be that we would be eating. It was CHAOS!!! Or so I thought anyway.

Because amid all that, peacefully and with a smile, in walked Sean (and Deavin, his supervisor). Well, to my seeing, they rather glided through the classroom, like medieval monarchs on felt soled slippers. They both reassured me that everything is and will be fine. I am not sure I believed them.
In the end, it all came together. There were four variations of łazanki, all absolutely fantastic. All on time, nothing under or over-cooked and nothing over or under-seasoned.

Suddenly the students and teachers, with smiles on their faces were eating as if nothing happened, as if … it was just another day at school.

Through their smiles, calmness, quality of their presence, both Deavin and Sean reminded me why I think teachers ought to be labelled heroes. Well, they are in my books anyway.

The next day I received a text from Sean: “It was a blast! We will have to plan the knife training soon! The kids loved you and the Lazanki!!” I am humbled and honoured to have been part of this learning experience.

Hmmm… before I do anything with knives, I better bone up on my band-aid techniques.

By Rev. Piotr