The Beginning

My Grandfather

I have loved food ever since I can remember.  I grew up in a family that not only ate a lot of food but also talked about it incessantly.  My grandparents played a huge role in this.  My grandfather planted a garden every spring for as long as I can remember.  He took great pride in his garden. Even though he worked two jobs, he always found an hour or two a day to devote to planting, weeding and pruning.  Some of my fondest memories of my grandfather are the times I spent with him in the garden.  He showed me what to look for before pulling a radish out of the ground and when to pick a perfectly ripe tomato.  He always carried a saltshaker in his pocket so we could sample a tomato or cucumber right there in the garden.

Year round, my grandmother prepared most meals using vegetables from the garden.  During the winter months, we ate the tomatoes, string beans, carrots, and corn that were either canned or frozen the summer before.  Batches of caponata, sauerkraut, applesauce, pickles, tomato sauce and jams were also “put up” for the winter months.  My grandfather hunted throughout the winter, providing my grandmother with the necessary ingredients for dishes like venison meatballs and braised rabbit with macaroni.  We ate food that was cheap and accessible. Who knew that the term ”Farm to Table” would one day describe the way we ate.

Because of my Grandfather’s work schedule, lunch was the main meal of the day.  My grandparents had an open door policy at lunchtime so my grandmother always made plenty of food.   Every day the table was filled with a revolving host of relatives, neighbors and friends.   My grandmother cooking at the stove and my grandfather sitting at the head of the table were the two constants. During these lunches, my grandfather, who never sat down except for meals, reveled in his role as commanding chief of the lunch table.  We ate and laughed while my grandfather happily regaled us with stories and jokes.

It’s these memories and more (which I’ll share later) that spurred my life long passion for food, wine and all things yummy.  The meals I’ve cooked, the wonderful places I have traveled to and the various wine and flower classes I have taken, have been incredible, but I find it’s so much more rewarding when knowledge and experiences can be shared.  I have created this blog with exactly that goal in mind.  Please feel free to comment on all of my future blogs.  I love feedback and I love new ideas.   My next blog will be about the wine paired dinner I went to last night with my friend Kelly.  I’ll save all the details for later, but I will tell you, that it was absolutely divine!