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www.luciesfarm.com Scottish | Kobe Beef
Most families have traditions. And often these traditions relate to food or to favourite holidays. My family grew up in Hawaii, and one of our traditions was Mother’s Secret Spaghetti Recipe. She learned how to make this strange spaghetti before I was even born, from her uncle in San Francisco. I never met him. I think he was Italian and may have worked in a restaurant - or did he own one? He decided to show my mother how to prepare his spaghetti sauce, and his secret was passed. Nothing was written down. There was no air conditioning in Hawaii in the 1950’s and 1960’s, and I don’t remember any Italian restaurants. I believe these two facts are related: who wants to eat heavy Italian food when it’s 90 degrees and humid? So the only spaghetti I remember having as a kid was Mother’s Secret Spaghetti. She didn’t cook it often because it took a long time on the stove, but smelling cinnamon and cloves all day was part of the fun. We lived in Bangkok for a few months in 1957. Our cook (everyone had a cook then) helped to prepare the secret sauce, but couldn’t pronounce it. So spaghetti became “pa-ka-tee” and the tradition was amended slightly. I remember my mother cooking the pa-ka-tee one day in Kahala, around 1969 or so. The little screw that holds the handle on the top of the lid fell off, and into the simmering sauce. Mother looked through the sauce and couldn’t find it the screw so decided to serve it. Naturally my grandmother - the only one not aware of the hidden screw - managed to bite down on it. Although my mother didn’t like my first wife, Marcia, she decided to share the secret with her. I was not allowed to see the preparation of the secret pa-ka-tee: as before, nothing was written. Marcia decided to add pickle juice to the secret formula. Drained from a bottle of pickles. Marcia thought that improved the taste. I didn’t. Can you imagine improving anything with pickle juice? My mother died in 1976. She’d just turned 49. While Marcia could do many mean things --- like giving my childhood teddy bear to a charity shop --- she did manage to break the rule and write down the pa-ka-tee recipe. The Marcia version went to my current wife, Marjorie. The pickle juice was deleted (although you can add it if you like). This is the secret recipe. It’s not to everyone’s liking, but I think it’s delicious. Especially when it’s made with Scottish | Kobe beef that we’ve raised here on the farm. The scent of it cooking reminds me of humid tropical evenings in Hawaii spent with my family. |
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