As far back as I can remember I would always want to be in the kitchen helping whoever was in there, and they were always happy to have me “help”. I credit these early experiences to my love of cooking and baking now.  I think it is so important to get kids helping in the kitchen as early as possible. Make it fun, let them see what cooking/baking entails, give them the confidence and satisfaction of making something from scratch and being able to eat the results. These are invaluable skills that they will use their entire life. I am so thankful I was given that as a child.

I have many culinary memories from my childhood on which I still draw from as an adult. When I would stay home sick from school I would lay on the couch watching PBS cooking shows all day, and this was long before Food Network dominated TV and people were obsessed with watching cooking shows. I also had a subscription to Bon Appétit Magazine. I would comb through each issue as soon as it came in the mail, looking at the pictures and reading every word. There was a particular recipe that caught my eye one month, and my Mom ever so lovingly took me to the grocery store to get all of the ingredients for it. I then took on the challenge of making a fruit tart, which was the first time I ever had tried to make anything like that. I was so proud of myself when I was finished. I still, to this day, have photos of it, but after having moved multiple times, I need to find which box they’re in.

There are three ladies in my life that I credit  for helping me establish my love of cooking and baking. All three of them were always happy to have me follow them around the kitchen and help. I hold each one of them in my heart and cherish the different culinary memories I have with them.

My Mom was ever so loving and always let me be her little helper in the kitchen. I would drag my little stool around the kitchen following her as she cooked. While she was cooking I would gather all of the bits of veggies that were to be thrown away and use them in my own “meal”, and I use that term lightly. Most of the time my “meal” would end up being chopped up ends of broccoli stalks, celery bits and carrot ends in a bowl of water with an obscene amount of black pepper floating on top of it all. I would stir that bowl and in my imagination I had just created an amazing pot of soup. There were a few times I even ventured to taste my “meal” – it tasted as you can imagine. There are so many other things that I loved making with my mom and that to this day if I eat them they instantly transport me back in time. Her Swedish Pancakes, Blueberry Muffins, Coffee Cake, Caesar Salad Dressing, Green Chicken Enchiladas, Strawberry Pie, and so many more. Everytime I make pie dough the smell takes me back to being a little kid watching the dough come together in the food processor as my mom would drizzle in cold water. I still to this day love using wonton wrappers because when I was a kid my mom would let me wet the edges of the wrapper and she would roll them up. I was fascinated by it all, and still am. Small simple things leave lasting wonderful memories.

My Nana was another influence on me in the kitchen. We did a lot of baking together. Whenever I would go over to their house she would have some sort of baking project waiting for my arrival. Cookies and scones were the frequent choices. My Nana was from England, and had the accent to go along with it. As we were in the kitchen together she would often mimic Julia Child, then my Uncle would join in and make it even more hilarious. As a kid I thought it was funny, but didn’t really understand what they were referencing. Now as an adult I look back and truly cherish the Julia Child impressions. Nana would make dishes that, as a young age, I thought were strange, but now I recognize as being a wonderful part of her English heritage. It wasn’t until I got older and visited England that it all came together and I realized that the things I didn’t understand about Nana or the meals I thought were gross or weird were all because of her upbringing. My Nana and Poppop grew up near London during WWII. This shaped everything about them. A lot of the food they ate and made for us were meals that they grew up on during WWII and after. As a kid I ate beans on toast or sardines on crackers more times than I had wanted to, but now I cherish those memories. They were feeding us a part of their history and each bite held a story of their past.

My Grammy (pictured at the top of this post) was another one I would help in the kitchen. She was a sweet and funny lady. Her meals were simple, but memorable. I can still taste her hamburgers, her tuna casserole with chips crumbled on top, or her turkey sandwiches. (My little sister, to this day, longs for Grammy’s turkey sandwiches. They have always been her absolute favorite. No one could ever replicate them, no matter how hard we’ve tried.) The kitchen in the picture is also the kitchen I grew up cooking in, and still am cooking in to this day. That in itself is something very special to me.

Sadly my Nana and Grammy are no longer alive, but the delightful memories they gave me will forever be with me. It always amazes me how our senses of taste and smell can instantly trigger very vivid memories. Make memories, cook good meals and have fun! Food should be fun and inviting, especially when eating with family.

Loads of Love,
April