Meatloaf and Memories

I made meatloaf tonight. I was actually quite nervous about it too. Why would a so-called trained cook be nervous about making a simple meatloaf? I make them all the time, but NOT for my Dad. It is one of his favourite comfort foods and I remember the wonderful smells of meatloaf and fried potatoes wafting through the air in our home while growing up.

I don't make mine the same as my mother did. I of course don't use flour or crackers or oatmeal. Instead I use a little bit of sweet rice flour. No, it isn't sweet tasting, just more glutenous than regular rice flour without the wheat gluten that affects Hubby and I in different ways. I also don't use pepper so I have to rely on salt and my herbs to season everything.

So, as I threw this comfort food meal together I was filled with memories of a mother I miss who taught me more about cooking than I learned at school, and with a nice bit of anxiousness that it pass the taste test of her number one food fan, my father.

His eyes lit up when he saw it on the table, and after we said grace I watched out of the corner of my eye to see his first reaction. Much to my relief and delight, he had a very satisfied look on his face as he gobbled the plate full of food down. This is the man who wasn't eating much before he moved in with us and here he was wondering what I would do with the last of the fried potatoes, ready with fork in hand to save them from the garbage can (also known in this house as the dog dishes!).

Food can just be a way of sustenance or it can be a memory in the making. It all depends on how you want to look at it. For me, specially since Dad moved in, it has been a way to connect with a Mother who has been gone for many years, but lives in my heart and my kitchen.

Mother's Meatloaf (Modified)
2 pounds lean beef (I use extra lean)
1 small onion chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons mixed dried herbs (when I have fresh I use them)
salt and pepper as desired
2 eggs
1 oz (1/8 cup) sweet rice flour (or you can use cracker crumbs or regular white flour)
2 Tbsp ketchup
2 Tbsp BBQ sauce (home made is best but store bought is fine)
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Mix together with hands and press tightly into a large loaf pan, making a small trough all around the edge for the fats to run off. Cover the top with ketchup and/or BBQ sauce and bake at 350 for about 1 hour until the centre reads 170 on a meat thermometer or juices run clear. Drain fat off a few times during cooking. Let rest five minutes in pan, drain one more time and then turn over onto serving plate.