A kid & a kitchen

Some of my earliest memories of a child involve playing "house".

Like most kids I loved to play kitchen and grocery store and Grammy would save empty cartons for us to play with.  Our bed became a conveyor belt like at Delchamp's (our local grocery store in Mobile) and we would even make the "bong" noise each time we "scanned" something.  I had a Holly Hobbie easy bake oven and thought it was just about the greatest thing ever.  I also had a snoopy snow cone machine.  Any sort of cooking or kitchen related toy or gadget was a huge hit for me.  Don't get me started on my Barbie McDonald's set!

So you can see that from a very young age I loved cooking! The first time I really cooked I was probably 9 or 10 years old.  I made a grilled cheese sandwich and thought it was the most delicious thing I had ever eaten.  I even added a sliced pickle on top for garnish. From there I was pretty much hooked!

​I would make up recipes whenever I could get away with it and one I really liked to made I called "bread balls".  So original.  😂.  All it was was little balls I rolled up after pinching off part of a slice of white bread (no crusts of course!) and then I would stir them in melted butter and jelly and microwave them.  I don't think they were very good at all but I loved making them.  

My permanent spot in the kitchen when Grammy would cook was right on the counter.  She once had to throw me across the room when grease caught on fire!

I loved to visit my Papa and cook with him.  He was Italian, larger than life and confined to an electric wheelchair so I was his sous chef.  I would climb and gather all of the things he couldn't reach and we would cook together.

Cooking for me has always been so much more than preparing food.  It really is ritualistic in a way.  This is likely why I am such a messy cook. Thank goodness for Grammy who follows behind me cleaning up my messes.
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Love,

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