As I watch all the cooking challenges on television, I keep remembering one show in particular where one of the featured cooks lived in a run-down, rented farmhouse.

The kitchen was small by any standards with no modern conveniences. The gas cook stove was wobbly, requiring extra attention when heating dishes because of the uneven heat. That lady from these humble surroundings created a dish worthy of the top prize: $100,000.

After watching the cooking shows, I moved on to the house-buying shows and got a funny feeling listening to some of the people complain about how dated they found the kitchens in most of the prospective houses: “We’ve got to rip out all of it and start over. Take out the cabinets and backsplash and appliances and countertops.”

But if you do replace them with new cabinets and backsplash and appliances and countertops, what do you have? Prettier things. Will you cook any better or will you be any happier doing the dishes? Now, I’m not saying I wouldn’t love to have a remodeled kitchen with new cabinets and countertops, because I would. But that is no longer a high priority.

People sometimes ask me if I have a state-of-the-art kitchen. Not by a long shot. I’m in the process of removing two layers of wallpaper and with each strip of paper removed, I am finding the reason it was papered in the first place. There’s holes in them thar walls. I have cabinets that have been painted three or four times. And, while I have nice appliances, (gasp!) they don’t match!

My daughter, Sarah, invited a dozen or so friends to the house last week and we all gathered in the wreck of a kitchen. But we had a great time and didn’t give any of that a second thought other than the comments that they didn’t remember the first layer of paper with the flowers and birds being there when we moved in. If you are lucky enough to have a beautiful kitchen, enjoy! If not, don’t fret. You can eat pizza on paper plates seated at a card table, surrounded by friends and family. The fun and fellowship is what everyone will remember, not the lack of china, granite countertops or mosaic backsplash.

I’m excited about the cooler weather. Soup season is just around the corner. If you have a favorite soup recipe, please send it to me so I can share it with everyone. It can be super simple or quite involved. I’m willing to spend as long as it takes for a good bowl of soup.

My friend Jean McFadden shared a couple of good recipes. The six-layer casserole is a one-dish meal sure to please us meat-and-potatoes people. The quick chocolate pecan pie is really rich, so a sliver will satisfy your sweet tooth. My cousin, Jim Evans, shared his favorite baked eggplant recipe. This is the one that’s like the dish we all loved at Wyatt’s cafeteria. Plan ahead for this one.

I hope for you a great week and happy eating!

Six-layer casserole

2 cups ground beef

2 cups sliced potatoes

2 cups chopped celery

1/2 cup diced onions