Being in the Kitchen is a Genetic Thing!

 I can finally cook again! (It's been since Feb. 1).   I love to cook, my mama loves to cook, my sisters love to cook.  My daughter and daughter-in law love to cook.

When I 'm in the kitchen, I'm a piddler, a dawdler, a lolly-gagger!  I love to make up recipes with whatever I have on hand.  Sometimes, I use actual recipes but I rarely measure.  I cook by feel, not by measurements.  I can have one garlic clove left and I will waste a whole day investigating what I want to cook with it.

I have too many cookbooks (old school) and too many recipes printed out (in any drawer) and too many recipes filed.  I'll never get to all of them.

When I thought back, I realized I grew up in and around the kitchen.  I was in charge of whatever my mom told me to do.  Alot of times, it was "Grate the cheese or make the salad or make the tea."

Younger sister, Liz, now, personal chef, was in charge of "making a creative table decoration."  My other sister Susie, an artist,  was in charge of washing the dishes.

My dad got home late from his rounds at the hospital so we usually ate late.  We all sat down together at the table Monday-Friday.  Saturday nights, my parents usually went out so we ate Swanson's Frozen Chicken Pot Pies.  Sunday morning was a Sarah Lee coffee cake.

I loved the invention of fast food.  Don't get me wrong.  My mom is a great cook and made great food, but to get to eat something pre-made in a foil container was special in our house.

Funny, how things change.  Because my generation ate things in foil containers, cans, and drive-thrus, we Baby Boomers are having to go back to the way our grandmothers cooked.  We are obsessed by "getting the junk" out off of our tables.

It's harder for people around my age because I was around when Toll House Cookies came on the scene!  Cool Whip. Spray Cheese. Frosty's. Dr. Pepper. Chips Ahoy. Campbell's soups. Cake Mixes.  Brownies.  TV dinners. Chicken Nuggets. French Frys.

Food associated with love is age old.

 

I try to take the basic recipes and make them healthier.  Or come up with some concoctions that turn out to be family favorites.

My daughter McKenna is light years ahead of me on the health journey.  You can check her website at Thrive to Live.com


But, everyone has to start somewhere and this is my start....

Memorial Day Feast

 

First thing for the Memorial Day Feast is to find a veteran and hug them, tell them thanks, and take time to listen to their story.

Now for the Food--

Caffeinated Chicken or Beef

Standing Up Vidalia Onion Soup

Joo Joo's Salad Standard

Mediterranean Herbed Asparagus 

Tomato Pie

Something with Chocolate Chips