Learn Hardcore Japanese: haha ha watasi no ryouri wo homete kuremasita.

は is the topic marker. It sets 母 (my mother) as the topic of the sentence. The sentence literally means “As for my mother, she complimented my cooking.” Using は signals that the speaker is talking about their mother’s actions.

Why is を used after 料理?

を marks 料理 (cooking) as the direct object of the verb ほめる (to praise/compliment). It shows what was being complimented: my cooking.

What does ほめてくれました mean?

This is the te-form ほめて of the verb ほめる plus the polite past of くれる. くれる indicates someone does something for the benefit of the speaker. So ほめてくれました means “gave me the favor of complimenting,” or more naturally “complimented (for me).”

Why use てくれる instead of just ほめました?

ほめました simply states “she complimented.” ほめてくれました emphasizes that the mother’s action was for the speaker’s benefit and often carries a sense of gratitude or personal involvement.

What’s the role of 私の in 私の料理?

私の marks possession, so 私の料理 means “my cooking.” It specifies whose cooking was being praised.

Can 母が be used instead of 母は here?

Yes, grammatically you could say 母が私の料理をほめてくれました, which uses が to mark the subject. 母は makes 母 the topic and can imply contrast or set the context; 母が simply focuses on who performed the action without that topical nuance.

Is it possible to omit 私の in this sentence?

If the context is clear that you’re talking about your own cooking, you can drop 私の:
母は料理をほめてくれました。
But adding 私の clarifies ownership if needed.

What is the polite level of this sentence, and how could you make it more casual?

The sentence uses the polite past form くれました, which is polite. To make it casual, you could say:
母は私の料理をほめてくれた。
or even
母が私の料理をほめてくれた。