"No one who cooks, cooks alone. Even at her most
solitary, a cook in the kitchen is surrounded by generations of cooks past, the
advice and menus of cooks present, the wisdom of cookbook writers." Laurie
Colwin
I was married at the young age of 21, both of our mother's were wonderful cooks. So, when we decided to build our home, I wanted a huge a kitchen. I wanted a huge kitchen because I had noticed while growing up, everyone spent their time visiting in the kitchen or sitting around the dining room table. Of course I wanted that to be the center of my home as well.
Yes, you guessed it, the kitchen has always been the gathering place of our home. It's so much more than a place to create a meal; it is a place where memories are made. It is where we gather with family and friends to prepare and share food, emotions, memories, and conversations that include stories and recipes related to food, family and friends.
The aroma of certain foods can evoke memories and emotions. Put all that together,
aroma, memories emotions, and food and we can be transported back to a special place
and time. It is like getting a bear hug from mom that fills your heart and
warms you to your soul. Good food whether it is prepared simply gourmet style, can overcome differences between those who
"break bread" together.
The only thing that should ever come between
people is a well set table laden with food. It sooths the soul, warms the heart and creates great conversations.
I want to thank all of my family and friend for sharing many delicious meals, recipes and conversations. Thank you for digging through all your recipes and sharing not only your favorites but also those that were penned by our mothers, Dolores and Gertrude.
For those of you visiting my website, please note many dishes from our past were made without measurements or the use of a cookbook. Let's face it both our grandmother's and mothers could just throw things together in a pot and the end result would be something that filled our tummies, warmed our hearts and tasted great too.
I have made guesstamations with amounts of some of the ingredients. My suggestion to you is to follow the baking recipes to the letter, baking is more of a science and measurements have to be exact. For all other recipes, I suggest that you might use them as a base, adding and taking away those ingredients you and your family prefer. This will help make the recipe more to your liking or to personalize it and make it your own.
You may find that they taste just as you remembered your mother or grandmother making them or that you might want to adjust something, just a smidgen here or a dash there. After you have made some of your favorites a few times, you will be cooking without measuring and/or the use of a cookbook or recipe as well.
I am fortunate to have a wealth of memories that include many of our friends and family members cooking and still more memories of everyone enjoying meals together both past and present. I hope that you enjoy preparing serving, eating, and sharing the recipes that are posted here and make them part of your recipe book along with your old favorites. Maybe you will even share them with your family and friends.
