An Heirloom from my Mother

My mother gave me a wonderful gift. This is her to the left holding my beautiful little girl. So the gift...

I absolutely love to cook/bake/create/stir/saute whatever. I do, I love it. It makes me happy, relieves stress, gives me a huge feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction. I didn't know I loved it until I started cooking like a crazy person the last month or so of my last semester at Snow College. Looking back I can see that I was under an enormous amount of stress with a little heartache thrown in. Then I went to California as a Nanny and one of my jobs was making dinner for the family every night. Life and food preferences was very different in CA then I had been used to. No one-- and I mean not a soul ate mashed potatoes and gravy. The gravy was the kicker. There was a sushi bar on every block for crying out loud. So the cooking there was a bit of an adjustment. Lots of rice and veggies and grilling involved-- I DO NOT eat raw meat of any kind i don't care how long it has been soaking in lime juice. Yes, I did try sushi on a number of occasions actually. I hated it every time. I don't really even like to touch raw meat, so why on earth would I stick it in my mouth? Anyway, from the whole California cooking experience I feel that I have a much better rounded repertoire of recipes and preferences. It also kind of gave me a healthy fetish-- i.e I only buy whole wheat bread and brown rice. I feel like i have meshed the two cooking styles well. I still make a delicious pot roast with mashed potatoes and gravy on Sunday-- that is a necessary part of living life to the fullest. But I also make a tasty little dish termed Tai Zucchini a least once a week at the height of my gardens' zucchini season. I love to cook. I love to do it for other people particularly when I need a little boost to my confidence and self esteem. It is a definite joy of mine-- one I inherited from my mother (who is the most amazing chef on the planet.)