kitchen scribblings

I've decided to join in on the Sunday Scribblings. This week's assignment is the kitchen.

I love working in the kitchen. It really is the heart of the home. Think of it, when you have a party, where does everyone hang out? In the kitchen. Kids home from school, working on homework? In the kitchen because Mom is probably working on dinner while helping with homework.

Some of my favorite memories took place in a kitchen. Watching my Nana make nockerli (I still can't make it the way she did). Learning to bake her "secret" blond brownies with my Aunt. Learning to make Challah with another Aunt. I loved when my kids were small and they wanted to help. Their chubby little fingers poking into the flour, rolling out their own little bread creations, dumping ingredients into the pot to stir. It was so great to dress them up in aprons and cook with them. It still is, minus the dressing them up part. I love meals where we are all in the kitchen together, chopping, slicing, stirring. Sometimes I'm in charge, sometimes they are, but it's wonderful to all be working together and somehow makes the meal taste so much better.

I love working in the kitchen in part because I love to feed people. Not just daily meals. I enjoy preserving foods; making jams, jellies, pickles, chutney. Serving them throughout the year brings me enjoyment. To know that my efforts have created a tasty treat for those I love. The same with any baking or cooking that I do. I truly love watching people enjoy what I make. As my kids get older they want to learn how to make some of their favorite dishes. I like sharing this with them, knowing that "our" recipes will go forward through time as part of our family heritage.

Two of my nieces love to cook. It is my pleasure to give them cooking things for gifts to encourage their love of the kitchen. As a matter of fact this past Christmas I gave them each a vintage apron that I had embroidered with their name on it. As they say, what goes around comes around. I recently received a gift that I treasure greatly. V made an apron for me, designed and sewed all by herself. I love it and wearing it is like getting a big hug from her every time I put it on.

I guess the kitchen is a large part of my identity because the connotations of food, family, and togetherness all center around it.