Welcome to my Kitchen!

I love to cook, eat, and share what I make and I have recently started teaching cooking classes in my home.

My favorite part of my home is my kitchen island.  So much great food and many wonderful conversations have been around the island that my husband built.  I have always been a firm believer that making and eating meals together makes for closer relationships.  Even when my children were younger and into all kinds of activities, we made a point to eat at least one meal together everyday. Now that they are older, 21 & 23, and currently still living at home, we have more meals together than apart. I love how they are now an instrumental part of the food planning and preparation.

My son has been the “picky” eater part of the equation, which at times has been very trying for me.  So much so when he was around 8 and was pitching a fit about having to eat one of my standard favorites, spaghetti no less, I convinced him, kicking and screaming to make the gravy (sauce).  I told him that squeezing the garlic press would make him feel better.  That night all I can say is; it worked.  He had 2 helpings of the food he hated.  Nowadays he is still not a fan of the pasta spaghetti but loves all other kinds of pasta.  He is currently testing my personal boundaries by requesting Lamb, Veal and Mushrooms which I did not grow up eating but I can’t be a self proclaimed foodie without at least testing my comfort zone.

My daughter while I knew she loved most foods, pretty much surprised me at how adventurous she had become.  While away at college in her sophomore year she spent a semester abroad, lived in an apartment which did not have a meal plan.  She had a crash course in picking out and cooking meals for herself. She was hooked and has been on her own foodie quest ever since.  My husband and I went over to Paris on her spring break.  I could not believe how much she had grown.  Out to dinner one night she asked our waiter what was his favorite meal, that is what she ordered and loved it.  I almost fell out of my chair, wonderful to see but I am not sure If I could have done that.  I am learning from her as much as she has from me.  I will admit I was not so thrilled when my double Political Science and German major proclaimed she wanted to move to the Caribbean and open a restaurant. She is currently off to live in Japan for a year to teach English as a second language.  I cannot wait for her to come home and teach me how to make Japanese food.

My husband and I started our lives together with the knowledge of good tasting food and we could make some very good meals together, nothing too fancy or exciting but well made meals.  We are now self proclaimed foodies and are on a quest to eat and share great food whether we are alone or with a group of family and friends.  We love to try new recipes and look for new restaurants with good reputations of having well prepared delicious tasting food.  Whether we are home or on vacation, which is mostly in the Caribbean, we seek out and crave amazing food.  We are also now looking into pairing wine with our yummy food.  While in Paris realizing they do not have our kind of beer nor cocktails, we needed to start to like wine.  One of the highest things on my bucket list is to eat my way through Italy, I refuse to go until I can enjoy a glass of wine with dinner.  I think we are safe to go now!

My hope is to inspire you to have your own food adventures, it is never too late to try something new.