The kitchen is one of my happy places and it has been for a long time. My grandma who lived on a farm outside of Bloomington, Illinois, spent time with me in her kitchen, teaching me the beauty of cooking with fresh vegetables when canned vegetables were a popular grocery store item. She taught me how to use her flour sifter and then how to gently scoop the flour into the measuring cup. My mom spent time with me in the kitchens when we moved every 2-3 years for my dad's job. She taught me measurements, how to double recipes (a recipe for 4 didn't feed our family of 6), cooking terms, the importance of cleaning as you cook as a time saver, the joy of cooking for family and friends. She let me look through her recipe books to find new recipes that I thought the family would like. Mom taught me that there was a big world of food out there and it was mine to discover. My kids are all good cooks. We spent a lot of time in our kitchen and now that they're out on their own, I smile as they cook for their families. They send recipes that they've discovered and want to share with me. The cooking lessons pass along through the generations.
I have a big collection of cookbooks. Although it is easy to type ingredients on a Google search to bring up a list of recipes, I still enjoy sitting at the table turning the pages of my cookbooks.
I am following Julia's advice: still learning how to cook, trying new recipes, learning from my mistakes, being fearless, and having fun. I just love my kitchen playground!
I adored Julia, her style was different than mine. I cook by concepts, and work with what is fresh or at hand. I often can't repeat what I have done. I agree that the kitchen is my playground.
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