I came to this country as a little daughter of a German father and Polish mother. Growing up in a Polish kitchen I learned to make pierogi, kopytka, kapusniak, and other simple Polish country foods. We had farm animals and a garden. I learned to use foods in season and preserve the excess—on a wood-burning kitchen stove. We gathered wild mushrooms and berries and had our own honeybees. Our most-used herbs were dill and parsley. My husband had an Italian mother who taught me a whole new world of Italian cooking. She introduced me to basil and rosemary and pasta that was paired with tomato sauce, rather than sauerkraut. I learned to make polenta and ravioli.
I am now a wife, mother of three adults and a grandmother. (During school time, I've been a Chemistry, Astronomy and Science teacher.) And I have always loved food. I have had honeybees of my own, always keep a small garden, including a separate herb garden, still gather wild mushrooms, persimmons, grapes and black walnuts and still cook foods in season, preserving the excess. I like to eat lobster in Maine and crabs in Baltimore. I usually bring back something special in food when I travel. My cooking incorporates the recipes from my past and often updates them to suit our current tastes. And I love exploring new flavors and dishes from other cultures.
As my blog is evolving into a cooking blog, I will be cooking with the seasons, using local food when it’s available here in the country and applying new flavors and cooking techniques to old favorites as well as developing new dishes. I hope you’ll visit often.
