My neighbor told me this when
at the mailbox we happened to meet.
It seems every now and then
his son and new wife invites them over to eat.

Only after they had married some months back -
other concerns being paramount prior -
they realized cooking was a skill both did lack,
although home-cooked meals both did desire.

Their early attempts at cooking were all a disaster.
Everything they baked, broiled, or boiled tasted bad.
Whether roasting or poaching, food came out plaster.
Bought a grill...inedible still. Tried fried...batter a tad.

My neighbor grew to hate their invitation to dinner,
until his wife gave them a gift that was a winner!
She told the young couple every cook deserves
a rack filled with a variety of spices and herbs.

Now meals at their house are a culinary delight,
their foods are flavorful, seasoned just right.
Cloves, cinnamon, coriander, chili and cayenne
pepper their cuisine. They use onion, oregano and
are particularly partial to a pinch of parsley and paprika.
Tastes of basil, bay leaf, dill, nutmeg, and ginger. Eureka!
They added rosemary, saffron, sage, and thyme to a custard.
“If they used garlic, their food’d really ‘cut the mustard’”,
he said. “Enjoying their cooking...who’d have ever thought.”
Walking inside, I thought “Humm, they left out the salt!”