a pinch of this.......
 
I have vivid memories of the days of my childhood while spending time in the kitchen with my grandparents and watching them stir up all kinds of goodies for their beloved grandchildren. Grandma and Grandpa standing side-by-side at the stove with one of them in charge of the pancakes (always Grandpa) and the other in charge of everything else (Grandma, of course). It never grew old to have Grandpa carefully walk to the table where I sat, while balancing my "special" pancakes he had prepared for me. Although I knew what was coming....it always caused us both to break out into a BIG GRIN. There it would be.....a miniature (size of a quarter) stack of pancakes atop his spatula ready for my enjoyment. Naturally, there would be a generous supply of additional pancakes cooking on the stove. This might be one of those "had to be there" joys that we shared......but I loved it!

Of course, little did I realize at the time just how much influence these lazy, care-free days were having on me....but as I have gone through life with my own family, I am amazed at all of the wonderful things I have carried with me from those precious memories held. Although there are a vast spectrum of memories I could include in this story, I will instead spend this time focusing on one of my favorite parts.....FOOD!

I have figured out by now that I was certainly smack dab in the middle of a culinary artroom while in my Grandma's kitchen. What others call "doing things the hard way" or "cooking from 'scratch?" was absolutely the ONLY way it was being done in that cozy, red & white kitchen. Each day I was thrilled to go out to the little garden by the chicken house, surrounded by the short, picket fence (only to protect it from those pesky rabbits) to gather the days goodies. Fresh green beans, squash of all sorts, tomatoes of all colors, shapes, and sizes, and a host of other delicious veggies, awaiting to be plucked from their vine so that they could be used in the delicious kitchen creations prepared by my Grandma.

I always knew in my heart that I was doing what I loved most while being at Grandma's heels, following her out to the cherry tree, gathering chicken eggs, or racing downstairs to the basement to gather an assortment of delicious pickled delights......but it didn't click in my head that I WOULD be making those same things a priority in my own life until many years later when I realized I HAD. I laugh at myself when I tell the story of my very first garden. I knew I was willing to learn some of the things that I had seen my grandparents set the example for.....but I didn't do much research on the way to go about that before I plunged right in. If I wanted to make pickles.....PLANT CUKS....right? So, much to their delight, they were right there to support me in my efforts while we all stood together looking upon my new garden venture. I knew something was up when I turned to look at them, while admiring my neat little rows of cucumbers, and each of them had a BIG smile on their face as though they knew something that I did not. It took about 6 weeks for me to understand! Once those vines were at full bloom, I was lugging in basket upon basket of cucumbers and piling them on every open countertop (and everything else) that I could find. I did make LOTS of pickles that year and learned my first real gardening lesson. :)

As with all things, I am a firm believer that what we absorb from those whom we admire and adore should be duly noted and then given a personal twist of ourselves. Shaped by our own values, beliefs, loves, and style. I carry the beautiful memories of those days with me daily, but most importantly, I learned to apply that philosophy of living life while I was raising my own children. In my kitchen it's OK to: Sing at the table, snack on pickled okra or french fries...or anything else for that matter, before it's time to eat, make a big mess while cooking, throw spaghetti noodles on the ceiling to see it they are done, use the good dishes anytime you want, wait till morning to clean up the mess, adapt the recipes to your personal whims, use the 3-second rule....or not, find your favorite things in the fridge if they aren't on the table, or even refrain from eating something that you may not especially like (yet). :) My meaning is this.....whatever it is that brings our family together in the kitchen to laugh, dance, sing, eat, and of course, COOK!, will bring an abundance of happiness to our lives.

So, with all of this said it seems likely to understand that.......the kitchen is the "heart" of my home. I find complete peace with my hands in a sink of soapy water, gathering fresh veggies from the garden, rolling out a homemade pizza crust, hand-washing fresh eggs, or finding enough rings for the last batch of hot sauce. Cooking from "scratch" has been the most enjoyable lesson of my life... about life. Sharing this philosophy, along with new recipes and many delicious culinary creations to come, with my loved ones is a natural part of my world.  Lucky Me!!