Welcome to My Corner!

Welcome to my new blog! It's been a long time coming and I am very excited to start sharing my cooking world with all of you!

I began my life in the kitchen when I was about four years old, just old enough to stand on a chair and "help" my mom bake cookies for Christmas. It was our family's annual tradition and I loved every minute of it... but I also loved the process of it.

When I was twelve years old my parents work schedules changed and we went from having daily family dinners to eating together only once or twice a week. I was a latch-key kid and many evenings I fended for myself in the kitchen with items that my mom had prepped before she left for the night shift as a Pediatric nurse at our town's hospital. This is when I remember falling in love with cooking. I think it was due mostly to my feeling that I had free range of the kitchen. Mistakes were sometimes made, but I always tried my best to operate and produce an end product that was worthy of coming from my mom's kitchen! 

By the time was finishing high school I was determined to make most of the family meals. I was also going through an odd phase where I wanted everything to come from fresh produce and everything had to be homemade - even our pasta... in today's world I would be able to use the word sustainable or organic. 

Before I left for college to pursue a dream to become an artist (ugh) I gave great thought to going to culinary school. To this day I still think of it, and to that I say, I am still young - you never know!! LOL! But I followed my heart and not my stomach and cooking was something that took a place on the back burner (pun intended) - because as a starving art student ones creativity with ramen noodles can only go so far! 

As a mom now, my love for being creative in the kitchen also has a great desire to feed and nourish my family - and that's right, I'm not just talking about food! We are a busy, hectic, loud, boisterous and energetic bunch, just like most American families. I have four active boys, need I say more? At times it seems that everyone has their peaks and valleys of likes and dislikes and as a busy mom I pray that I can put something on the table that will charm everyone's palates.  

What some of you may not know is that I also try my best to plate dishes that are not just yummy and pretty but that are healthy and most especially kind to the heart. We had cholesterol scares with two of our boys and that scare paved a new direction for me in my kitchen. I revamped the way I thought of food and it reaffirmed my love for bringing out the best flavors in anything I made. 

I am a little crazy about food - in case it hasn't shown, but I am totally bonkers about my family. This is really all about them and all the other families out there - putting food on the table that tastes good, is good for our bodies and that give us the chance to eat as a family at a table that is filled with love and great conversation.  

So that's me in a nutshell. I'm here to share some things I've learned, some recipes that we love and to just have fun. Cooking isn't something that has to be a chore or time intensive... I promise it can be great and even if ya think you can't cook - just give it a try and keep a good attitude. Your kitchen might surprise you!... You might surprise you! Cheers!