In The Kitchen

 

In the kitchen is where the party happens! Our house in Irvine, CA had a large kitchen that opened to a family room so we had a "great" room. The counter in the middle held all the snacks and even though there were many places to sit and visit, inside and out, people always collected in the kitchen around the counter. There were often too many cooks in the kitchen, especially at Thanksgiving. I've been known to take a wooden spoon and chase people out while trying to put the final touches on the turkey and gravy. Then I learned it's best to just give everyone a job! Mash the potatoes, stir the gravy, carve the turkey, whip the cream! Makes life much easier and creates happy memories.

While there are a LOT of good cooks in our family I give credit to the 4-H program in Illinois for starting my daughters on the road to good cooking! Two recipes have withstood the tests of time - 4-H Spaghetti Sauce and 4-H Brownies. Daughter Renee has perfected the Spaghetti Sauce which is often requested as the special dinner for birthday celebrations. Family members are always happy to get her gifts of the delicious sauce. 4-H ers had to demonstrate how to make the recipes so the members really learned the basics of following a recipe, preparing the ingredients, and enjoying the results!

When we moved into the motorhome for our life on the road I copied my favorite recipes and have them on my computer. Sometimes I just took a picture to capture the "memory" of the recipe. Here's one of my favorites that daughter Laura brought into the family when she was in Kindergarten! Aggression Cookies:


The teacher had the kids make these in class ....to get out their aggressions! I love how Laura wrote "mix with hands until formed into a large glob." So professional! 

But the most special thought I have about "in the Kitchen" is this. On February 18, 1959, I was in my Mom's kitchen with a young man at the end of our third date. He had taken me out on 2 special weekend dinner and dancing dates. I had known him for nearly 3 weeks. He was getting ready to leave and as we walked in the kitchen I stopped in front of him, looked up (probably batted my eyelashes) and said, "Aren't you ever going to kiss me?"  He did. And it was Magic! My toes got hot, my body melted and I thought, "This is it!" Without that kiss there wouldn't be any of these stories!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Favorite Place

Image
Snow Apple Tree  As I thought about this week's challenge from Generations Cafe my mind wandered to the many beautiful sights I've seen in my 82 years. I've traveled in 47 states and a handful of foreign countries. I've seen the Grand Canyon, the Eiffel Tower, Stonehenge, Lake Louise, the North Woods of Wisconsin and the Sonoran Desert, oceans, rivers, bridges.... I could go on. However, in flipping through photos my eyes landed on this picture and my brain was flooded with memories. I grew up on a 5 acre farmette on Orchard Avenue in Northern Illinois. There were a couple of old apple orchards nearby but on our property there was only this one apple tree...the Snow Apple tree. It's fruit was snowy white inside and deep pink on the outside. It made great applesauce but that's not why I loved it. Look at the tree! So great for climbing.  My friends and I spent many hours in this tree. This is my Mom and me and the shadow of my Dad.  I always think of the song, Oh...
Read more

Military

Image
 This last weekend in May brings Memorial Day in honor of all those who served in the Military to defend our freedom and our right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. In my research of ancestors I've found many draft registration cards and listings of military assignments. I have found relatives who served in the War for Independence, the Civil War, WW1 and WW11, and Korea, Viet Nam and Desert Storm. I think all of these men, and one woman, survived the wars but were damaged in many ways for life. I think of my uncle Lester who enlisted in the Army at 17 and went off to fight in the bloody battles of Korea. The sights and sounds of battle never left him. He and my uncle Tom, who landed on the bloody beach of Normandy, probably had PTSD although we had no name for it then.  Grandpa Carl Quist enlisted in his early 40's with several children still at home. He was too old for active service so was assigned to ship repair in San Diego. It probably meant a steady paychec...
Read more

Mother's Day - Three Grandmas

Image
Three generations: Clockwise from  lower middle Amanda Caroline Mullins Lovell,  Myrtle May Lovell Lane and  Iva May Lane Quist This picture has always fascinated me. I wonder if it was Mother's Day in Iowa and someone collected these ladies for a formal picture.  Amanda Caroline Mullins Lovell , my 2nd Great Grandma,  was born in Terre Haute, IN in 1839. By 1859 she had moved to Hamilton where she married George Washington Lovell at age 16. George was a farmer and it appears their travels took them to Illinois, then Iowa with George working as a farm laborer. By 1860 they had 6 children.  In 1880 there are 6 teenage and adult children living at home on the farm. It's not clear if they owned the farm. Myrtle May was her 11th child.  No wonder Amanda looks crochety in this picture. Her husband had died in 1885.  The 1900 census shows her the head of household at age 63. She is a widow with one son, James, age 17 living at home. He was born when she...
Read more