I’m a little late on my Happy Mother’s Day post, but what can I say – I’ve been playing in the kitchen all day, and just sitting down late to catch up on blogging. I did call my momma this evening to wish her a Happy Mother’s Day, even if I wasn’t there to celebrate with her in person.
My parents are definitely the source for my love of food, and this blog really is dedicated to the love of cooking that they instilled in me early on. My mom was and is the cook in our family, though Dad also has his specialties in grilling, and once upon a time he was the croissant baking master (a story for another time). Mom had us in the kitchen early, helping her prep meals, clean vegetables and chop things up, while WJR talk radio played in the background. She would pull her step stool up to the counter, and I might help her snap beans, or segment grapefruit, clean cucumbers to be made into pickles, or chop corned beef for chipped beef on toast.
I also always loved going grocery shopping with her. Once a month, mom went “BIG grocery shopping” at LS Family Foods. (I would later find all of my boyfriends and my husband at that grocery store, but again – a story for another time). I loved walking up and down those aisles, looking at all the things available for cooking. Mom might send me off to the deli to get turkey for sandwiches, or off to the cereal aisle to get our favorite breakfast choices. She taught us how to buy produce at Lucky Natural Foods and the local farm stands – always feeling, touching and smelling the produce to get the freshest/most ripe offerings. She had relationships with everyone who worked in the stores and at the farms. That art has mostly been lost in this megastore world, but I’ve created similar relationships with the farmers I support, and at my local produce market, that is not unlike Lucky’s, in that it is a family business.
When Mom & Dad spent evenings with friends, it was to gather in the kitchen together and cook. While us kids weren’t cooking with them, we were included in the feast, and encouraged to try everything (though sometimes a pizza might be slipped into the oven for us as well). There were New Year’s Eve celebrations with crab, my first taste of escargot where I decided the butter was far better than the snails, wonderful homeade breads from Carol, fondue parties and so much more. And now that I have my own kitchen, I too, love to cook for the people I love, and now share my love of food with all of my readers here. Thank you for being a part of this space, dear readers!
Happy Mother’s Day, Mom, and thanks for raising us to love food, cooking for the people we love and the importance of supporting local farmers and food producers. We wouldn’t be the foodies we are today without the foundation you laid for us.
Love,
Jenn
The Whole Kitchen 