This is where it all got started! Well, almost. I met my honey when I was 15 years old. He came from a family of four. Mom, Dad, and one younger brother. His mom was a great cook and had no girls. She generously took me under her wing and gently introduced me to the kitchen. In their home the kitchen was the center of the house (the entire basement floor, actually.) Smack in the center of the room was a farm style dining room table that seemed like it stretched the length of the room. Also in the room was a couch (I had never seen a couch in a kitchen before) and a television (also a first for me!) Looking back I realize it was one of the original family rooms. Nowadays, that doesn't seem so odd, but to me it was totally foreign. It seemed to me that everybody was always in the kitchen. If you were home (and you weren't in bed), then you were in the kitchen. It was truly the heart of the home.
Contrast this to my family home, which was an apartment with a small kitchen. We were lucky, we had a separate dining room. There were 7 children in our family (with a 17 year age difference between the oldest and youngest, blessedly, we were not all under the roof at the same time.) One rule, ruled the house. Stay out of the kitchen! We Were called to the dining room when meals were ready and had pretty much no idea what went into getting them there. We all had chores from setting the table, to various jobs of clean up. Food preparation was not to be, for me.
Being one of the youngest and only a 13 month difference in age to my younger sister Dad felt we would be a danger to ourselves and to him if we were allowed to "run around" in the kitchen. Nervous much? Took me long enough to figure out why they would never let us in except to help clean up. "Somebody could cut off a finger or something" with little ones underfoot.
Curious, I asked my mom about it when I was older and in no danger of a swat for being cheeky, I found out that my Mom was often hiding onions and "things" she felt we wouldn't eat if we knew it was "in there." So funny. My mom's cooking skills didn't really develop until she retired to Florida and got a much nicer (and bigger) kitchen AND she was no longer cooking for 8 -20 people at a sitting. Non of this strong, beautiful people are alive today but they are always with me in spirit!
Both my honey and I grew up in Brooklyn, but I always felt like I was visiting another planet each time I was in his family kitchen as the contrast was just so big.
In sharing my kitchen journeys, recipes and tips I've picked up along the way, it is my hope that you will share the joy that I have come to know in creating a warm, welcoming and friendly atmosphere with KathysInTheKitchen.com.
Contrast this to my family home, which was an apartment with a small kitchen. We were lucky, we had a separate dining room. There were 7 children in our family (with a 17 year age difference between the oldest and youngest, blessedly, we were not all under the roof at the same time.) One rule, ruled the house. Stay out of the kitchen! We Were called to the dining room when meals were ready and had pretty much no idea what went into getting them there. We all had chores from setting the table, to various jobs of clean up. Food preparation was not to be, for me.
Being one of the youngest and only a 13 month difference in age to my younger sister Dad felt we would be a danger to ourselves and to him if we were allowed to "run around" in the kitchen. Nervous much? Took me long enough to figure out why they would never let us in except to help clean up. "Somebody could cut off a finger or something" with little ones underfoot.
Curious, I asked my mom about it when I was older and in no danger of a swat for being cheeky, I found out that my Mom was often hiding onions and "things" she felt we wouldn't eat if we knew it was "in there." So funny. My mom's cooking skills didn't really develop until she retired to Florida and got a much nicer (and bigger) kitchen AND she was no longer cooking for 8 -20 people at a sitting. Non of this strong, beautiful people are alive today but they are always with me in spirit!
Both my honey and I grew up in Brooklyn, but I always felt like I was visiting another planet each time I was in his family kitchen as the contrast was just so big.
In sharing my kitchen journeys, recipes and tips I've picked up along the way, it is my hope that you will share the joy that I have come to know in creating a warm, welcoming and friendly atmosphere with KathysInTheKitchen.com.