Not fond of their siblings...

In "The Joy of Cooking", the speaker uses her sister's tongue and brother's heart to describe their personalities. Although it is somewhat weird to connect body parts to personality traits and the refer to "cooking" them, it does create vivid imagery for the reader to picture. Obviously, from the title and the words the poet uses, the reader can assume that the speaker is not too fond of her brother and sister. Due to her sister's tongue that is "scrubbed and skinned" (line 2) and the statement "it probably will grow back" (line 7), the reader can also infer that the sister is not afraid to say what she thinks and she probably curses (and refrains from biting her tongue...pun intended.)  All of these characteristics that the speaker states about her sister are negative. Also, the fact that the speaker gets enjoyment out of "cooking" her siblings body parts is somewhat maniacal. In the second stanza, the speaker talks about her brother. The speaker doesn't seem to be to enthralled with her brother either. The brother's heart is seen as boring, dull, and careless. (line 11) Furthermore, the fact that his heart "barely feeds two" can make the reader assume that he is somewhat self-centered. Through the imagery of "cooking" siblings negative personality traits, the reader is able to understand the speakers point in the poem.