AUBURN- Robert Fellner is grateful to have his sense of taste, something he relies on every time he cooks. In 1995, while fueling an airplane at Washington Dulles International Airport, an in-flight television monitor fell on his head. “I woke up the next day and didn’t know where I was. I didn’t know how to read or write, lost some of my speaking capabilities and I was having seizures,” said Fellner. “I had to start all over again.”

As Fellner recovered from his head injury, he tried to cook; but for six or seven months, he lacked his sense of taste. “My family was on the receiving end of my cooking, and they were good sports,” he said.

Cooking runs in Fellner’s family. “My father is a master of the grill, and my mother is in charge of the kitchen,” he said. “I’ve been cooking as far back as I can remember. My twin sister likes to remind me of a story about when I was first learning how to cook a grilled cheese sandwich. I asked her how I would know when it was done, and she told me that you put your finger in the cheese to test it. I put my finger in and left it there until I burnt my finger.”

Fellner enjoys cooking with his grandchildren, noting it’s also “a great way to teach them math and science.” He also likes to modify recipes given to him by his family and friends – and even recipes from the back of a box. For example, he modified Betty Crocker’s hershey triple chocolate chunk brownie mix by substituting the 2 tablespoons water and 2/3 cup oil called for with 1/3 cup water and 1/3 cup oil. “The brownies no longer stuck to the pan, were more moist and did not become overly hard,” he said.

Fellner also likes to use spices and said that if anyone ever has a complaint about his cooking, it’s that it is “too spicy.”

While serving in the 10th Mountain Division of the U.S. Army, Fellner said he was “the first one to sign up for kitchen duty. Even if it was just scrubbing pans, I liked being in the kitchen.”

Fellner, now retired from the military, and his wife, Deloris, traveled in 2000 to visit Deloris’ daughter. After that visit, they decided to leave what Fellner calls the “rat race” of Washington, D.C., and to move to Maine. He earned a degree in occupational health and safety at Central Maine Community College last year and is now working on a bachelor of science degree in environmental health and safety at the University of Southern Maine.

In his spare time, Fellner works on his first book, a compilation of a few different World War II stories from people he knows. “It’s important to take down that history,” he said.

Million dollar pie

Ingredients:

1 large container of whipped topping (Cool Whip)

1 can Eagle brand milk

1 (20-ounce) can crushed pineapple drained (canned in its own juice)

½ cup chopped pecans

1 3½-ounce can angle flake coconut (long, medium-width flakes, sweetened or unsweetened)

¼ cup lemon or lime juice (your choice)

2 9-inch graham cracker pie crusts

Method:

Blend first six ingredients and pour into pie crusts. Put in refrigerator and allow the pie to become firm, at least 3 hours before serving. (Fellner refrigerates his pies overnight.)

El Paso pinto bean soup

Ingredients:

1 pound Italian sausage, hot or regular

1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes

1 medium onion, diced

1 small green pepper, diced

½ small red pepper, diced

4 14-ounce cans pinto beans (2 cans drained, 2 cans undrained)

2 pieces bacon, cooked

1 tablespoon crushed garlic

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1½ teaspoons ground coriander

Method:

In a skillet, brown and crumble sausage into tiny pieces. Drain. Transfer sausage to a 2-quart pot and mix in tomatoes, onions and peppers. Sauté on high no more than 5 minutes until vegetables are soft. Mix in beans, bacon, garlic, cumin, coriander. Bring to a near boil. Simmer a few minutes until “eating temperature.” Serves: 6-8

Real German sauerkraut

Ingredients:

2.2 pounds (35.27 ounces) sauerkraut. Canned is OK, but bagged tends to be better quality. Fellner likes to buy Bavarian-style sauerkraut with caraway seeds or beer barrel cured (available at local stores). This way, he can forget about adding caraway seeds.

2 or 3 pieces smoked ham hocks

2 large grated potatoes

2 tablespoons caraway seeds

4 tablespoon lard

2 tablespoon flour

1 large diced onion

1 tablespoon sugar

1 can (12 ounces) beer (optional)

Method:

Simmer sauerkraut, with any juice that comes with the sauerkraut, smoked ham hocks, potatoes, and caraway seeds in a medium-sized pot, on medium high for about 20 minutes. If the sauerkraut begins to stick, add up to ½ cup of water. Sauerkraut should be a thick mixture, not runny. In a separate skillet or pan, combine lard, flour and onions. Mix and heat on medium for 5-10 minutes until brown. The onions will become a very soft brown, almost translucent. When items in skillet are browned, mix into sauerkraut, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil and add sugar and beer for taste (the alcohol will evaporate but the flavor will remain). Mix until sugar is dissolved. Serves: 8