My Passion for Cooking

The woman in this photo is the reason I love to cook. The woman in this photo is my grandmother, my Mommom. Mommom was a great cook and just like any stereotypical grandmother, made fantastic Italian feasts. Mommom's baked macaroni and cheese was the best. It had the right amount of cheese and the right amount of crunch.
Mommom's potato salad? Absolutely the best! She even made a batch without onions just for me. She didn't drown it in mayonnaise or anything. It was just the right amount with some black pepper, green olives (black olives for me), hard boiled egg, and I believe parsley. Mmm...yummy.
Mommom's pasta, definitely the best. She made the best spaghetti sauce or rather gravy. When Mommom passed, several family members wanted the recipe for her gravy but she never wrote it down. As Aunt Jean told us, Mommom kept all her recipes in her mind.
I learned to cook by watching my Mom and my Mommom. They don't know it but I used to watch everything down to them turning the stove on. I would watch them prep and paid attention to what ingredients they would put into the meal they were cooking.

My Mommy is the other reason I love to cook. She used to make Filipino recipes for us, my favorite being lumpia. We used to eat them as soon as she removed them from the pot.
When I moved out on my own, I would ask both Mom and Mommom how to cook certain things just to make sure I was doing it right. After a bit I learned how to experiment and make my own recipes. Some prevailed and some failed but most prevailed. I love experimenting and my boyfriend serves as my guinea pig but fortunately for him, the experiments usually pan out. I'm becoming acquired to certain tastes and what may or may not go well together. That being said I invite you on this culinary adventure with me. I'm not a chef by any means but I'm happy to be a good cook. Thanks to my Mom and Mommom for everything I've learned from you. On with the adventure...