It got me thinking about who taught everyone to cook. My Grandma Fredricks was an excellent cook and she passed that on to her daughters who must have passed it on to their family. I know that I learned to cook from my mother.
I took an interest in cooking early in life. It started out simple with scrambled eggs and grilled cheese sandwiches. By the time I was in Junior High I was making box pizzas, homemade cookies and brownies. I had a 7th grade Home Economics class with Mrs. Brobst and one day she brought a bunch of fruit and other ingredients into class. Our assignment was to create a dish with the ingredients.(Food Network must have copied this for their Chopped program) I decided to make a fruit salad with a mayonnaise type dressing. I cut the fruit up quite nice and tossed it with the dressing. I put a lettuce leaf on the plate and fruit salad on top. I garnished it with coconut. When everyone was done we had to describe our dish. Then we voted on who we thought did the best job and I won! I think I was hooked on cooking from that point on.
In the summer, during high school and college, I worked at the Harbor Beach Resort Association as a waitress. They served the most delicious meals and desserts. I would copy recipes every chance I had. Then, I would make them at home.
A few of my most memorable cooking experiences included our wedding rehearsal dinner, my children's birthdays, tree trimming parties, Thanksgiving dinners, Easter dinners, and Kirsten and Travis' graduation parties. One of the guests couldn't believe that I had made everything myself at Travis' party. I finally said "I use to be a Home Economics teacher". She taps the lady next to her and says, "She use to be a Home Economics teacher, that explains it."
In a fast food nation, I think we have lost the art of cooking. I hope we eventually swing back to family dinner times and home made goodies. I enjoyed learning to cook and teaching others, whether it was a classroom full of high-schoolers or my own children. Who taught you to cook?
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