Peace, Love & Food - about the author

I have discovered that my happiness currently seems to be tied up into food and cooking.  Apparently much of the rest of the world has known for centuries that cooking and happiness are connected.  I'm a little slow sometimes.

I should have known, though.

As a young teenager, I tortured my siblings with strange food inventions.  I was responsible for watching them while mom was at work, and many days she would be met at the door as she arrived home to cries of "Mom, she was experimenting on us again!"

Many years later, my mother came to live with me after she was diagnosed with cancer.  Before she passed, we would often sit in the living room together sharing recipes between us.  She would have a cook book or cooking magazine in her lap, and I would be looking at recipes on my laptop.

You would think that we were thumbing through the greatest novels ever written.

"Oh, here's one!" one of us would exclaim.  And then proceed to read the name and ingredients out loud to the other.

Squeals of excitement would sometimes ensue.  We must have been a sight, two old ladies squealing with delight over recipes.  Thank goodness only the dog was there to see us.

For my mother, cooking was love.  You can tell by looking at me that I was very, very loved.  *wink*

Once Mom passed, I just seemed to be adrift in a sea of sadness.  Life lost its joy.  God seemed far away.  I felt alone in the universe.

Until I began to cook.

I've always loved to cook, but I only did it occasionally.  I'd cook for a special occasion.  Or just on a very infrequent whim.  But Mom was the cook in the family.  It was one of the few things she was still able to do near the end of her life.  Which is surprising, but I think being in the kitchen and feeling useful kept her going some days.  Of course I helped, but Mom was the grand chef in the house.

Mom also loved to grow a vegetable garden and preserve the harvest.  Before she became ill, we grew all of the produce to make our own salsa one year and then we canned it.  It was one of the highlights of our time together as adults.

Cooking and canning again has centered me.  It has given me peace and brought joy back into my life.  And, it has made me feel like I am honoring Mom and carrying on with what was important to her, too.  It has made me feel connected again.

I especially love it when I can share what I've made with people who appreciate the wonderful complexity of good food and good companionship.  I hope you enjoy what you find here.

Bon Apetit!
Jackie