Tuesday, April 30, 2013

The Person Behind the Plate # 2

I suppose I will start at the beginning and tell you about where I come from, and why I am interested in food and cooking. I grew up in Western PA in a pretty rural area. My Mom passed away when I was pretty young so I was raised by my Dad, Grandmas, and some Aunts helped out as well. Nobody in my family was all that adventurous with food. I ate a lot of meat and potatoes, casseroles, spaghetti and regional food like Pierogies and Kielbasa. My Dad rarely cooked for us, he would make only a few things like steak, ribs and chili. He was definitely the person that got me into food, though. He was always eating 'weird' things like herring and crabs. He was so excited when we finally got some bigger grocery stores that could order him seafood. I can still picture him sitting at our kitchen counter with a half dozen crabs in front of him spread out on newspaper. I never was brave enough to try them but I recognized how happy this food made him. At about that time I started watching Yan Can Cook and the Frugal Gourmet on TV and really wanted to start cooking. I then went to college and was living in dorms and eating dining hall food with no access to a kitchen. Finally after I moved to Arizona I got cable, and I got the Food Network. I was hooked, and that is when I really got a passion for food, ingredients, cooking and eating.

My Dad passed away many years ago, and as much as I have learned and branched out since I was a kid, my last meal would definitely be his oven baked BBQ ribs.


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Finally here is a photo of me with my older brother and sister, I am the one in the middle looking totally thrilled. I can only imagine someone tried to slip some cilantro in my milk and that face is the result.

I hope you all have a great week!


10 comments:

  1. I too love Food Network! I like that your Dad got you interested in food. My parents rarely cooked. They liked to pour stuff out of a can and call it good. I think that is why I like to cook...lol! Nice to get to know a few more things about you :)

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  2. You are so funny! Love learning more about you and your cooking passion, you've come along way! :)

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  3. I am sorry to hear that both of your parents have passed away, you look so young to be without both of them. I loved learning more about you. My dad never ever cooked, but my mom is a great cook.

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  4. How sweet that your dad turned you onto cooking! I'm sure he'd be so proud of all you've achieved on that end!

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  5. I love that you would want your dads baked ribs for your last meal... I bet that would make him smile.

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  6. Nice to hear your story! I don't think anyone was really the cook at my house, we kind of needed to fend for ourselves. I think that's how I first got turned onto cooking.

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  7. You are so young to have already lost both your parents! That makes me so sad, but I'm glad you have such good foodie memories of your Dad! That's so cool he's the reason you got interested in food.

    Hey, you're not one of those cilantro haters are you? I thought there was cilantro in that Moroccan chicken dish...but maybe it's parsley. Probably parsley.

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  8. It is difficult to loose both your parents at a young age. I lost my Dad when I was sixteen and my mom at 29. My heart goes out to you. They are with you everyday though, in everything we do.
    I am sure that your Dad would be so happy that you are a foodie now. I bet he would love trying all of your wonderful dishes. It is a tribute that you love his oven baked bbq ribs.
    Thank you for sharing. Blessings my dearest. Catherine xo

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  9. Wow, so sorry that you lost both your parents while you were young. My Dad died when I was 32 (13 years ago) while my Mom is so busy I have to call three weeks in advance so she could pencil me in for a visit!

    Thanks for letting us know more about you!

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  10. It is so nice to hear your story my friend, your parents sound so wonderful :)

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

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