Cream of tartar?

I love food, and I love to cook! Astonishingly this was not always the case, well not the cooking part anyway. I have always loved to eat food. Probably a little too much more often than not. I never cooked before I had a family of my own. I think it was a fear of the kitchen rather than that I did not want to cook. I remember on one occasion calling my mother and asking her if I should put cream of tartar in my tartar sauce! It sounded right to me, even as my mother laughed and instructed me on the correct way to make homemade tartar sauce. I grew up in a family of people who loved to prepare and eat food, and I had a lot to learn.

My childhood is a cloud of memories full of tasty treats and meals that other families would be in awe of. I remember bringing a friend of mine to my Grandmother's for Sunday dinner when I was a child. Sunday dinner at Grandma's was a religion, you did not miss. We walked into my grandparents humble abode and were immediately aroused by the tantalizing aroma of what was in store for supper. Needless to say my friend was overwhelmed by how many people could fit into that house, let alone around the table. I believe we had boiled dinner that night, and she ate every last bite!

My heritage had had an impact on the foods I have grown up to love over the years, and I try to incorporate those traditions into the meals I prepare now for my own family. My Grandmother is Sicilian and my Grandfather is a mix of English and German. My mother of course grew up with the rich recipes of her grandmother which included things such as kuchen and sauerbratten.

My mother. She is the best cook I know, and of course has had no formal training in the field, but instead has learned everything she knows from my Grandmother and her Grandmother. Some of my fondest memories of my childhood are of food and my mother preparing it. She always cooked with love and we new that as we we ate every meal. Growing up in Central New York, foods were heavy and rich with flavor.

I hope to become half the cook my mother and grandmother were and still are. I hope that my children will look back on their childhood memories and be filled with happiness and hunger!!