As a child, my mother made everything homemade from the things we grew and raised. She canned our winter goods, storing them in our old root cellar, she froze a year's supply of meat, mostly chicken which we ate every single Sunday. She made sure that the girls in the family could, at the very least, cook basic meals. Did I mention that my mother was old-fashioned in her views of gender-related jobs? LOL We girls, learned to cook, sew and all of the household duties while the boys learned to deal with trash, lawn upkeep, butchering and the more outdoorsy type jobs. I, the ultimate tom-boy, had a difficult time with this. While we were being taught how to cook, my mind wander to all of the animals out back that I could be playing with. So I really didn't have an appreciation for the art until much later in life. But when it hit me, it took hold and grew.
As an adult, while I enjoy cooking and trying out new recipes, my true love is baking, with my specialty being cheesecakes of every flavor imaginable. My eldest sister, Nancy is amazing in the kitchen. She ws definitely born with a spatula in one hand and a ladle in the other. I have yet to see a dish of hers that is a failure or even sub-par. My second to the eldest sister, Cindy, likes to focus on cooking, which she does quite well at. Her lasagne is the best I've ever eaten. Then comes Marsha. Her favorite form of the art is making candy and some forms of baking...but if she has her choice, it would be making sweets on the stovetop. So during the holidays, we always have a well spread feast. And while I am giving out kudos to my sisters, I would be sadly remiss if I did not include my brother-in-law Cory. He makes the best chili in the world as well as smoking our holiday meats. He doesn't simply toss the turkey (or whatever else we are having) onto the grill...he flavors it, chooses which would would be best for the celebration at hand. He is lovingly known as our grillmaster.
