Bon Appetit!!!

I first saw the words BON APPETIT on our dinner table place mat when I was probably 8 or 9 years old. My mom said it was a French word that meant something like "have a good meal." I later learned that it was indeed French meaning "enjoy your meal." Indeed, most of the meals I've had in my life were enjoyable - FAMILY DINNERS around the table is the best time of the day...especially because both my mom and my dad made really good food.

The kitchen caught my attention when I was around pre-school age, when my two aunts, Auntie Annie and Auntie Jenny had a small baking business - from cookies, to brownies, to birthday and wedding cakes. I remember walking around the kitchen sneaking sugar flowers and eating cake crumbs under their working table. Aside from my parents, Auntie Jenny probably influenced me the most. In fact, she gave me my very first cookbook. After trying my first "recipe" when I was 10, I signed up to cooking for the rest of my life.

I've tried and failed and tried and succeeded in the kitchen. I bruised, and cut, and burned my skin by being clumsy around sharp knives and hot ovens. But I always feel fulfilled when my family and friends enjoy the meals I make.There is no better time of the day than when, after all my preparations in kitchen, my husband tells me "will it still mean a lot to you if I say this meal is amazing?"

The header I created for this blog are pictures of food I made since Carl and I have been married.

I made the Swiss and Bologna Roll-ups when I was home one day with a migraine and I got tired of lying on the bed. The Chunky Mashed Potato with Grilled Pork Chops and Buttered Vegetables was a meal I cooked to celebrate the first 150 days of our marriage. The Sweet n Sour Beef Balls was something I made when Carl thought it was cool to take a video of me working in the kitchen. I made the Herb Roasted Turkey for our very first Thanksgiving together as a married couple. I prepared the Garlic Shrimp when we visited my Auntie Jenny's family in Texas last Summer. The Mini Ham Kabobs with Tuna-Celery Salad, the Chicken BBQ with Sauteed Corn and Mushroms, Steamed Vegetables, and Garlic Mashed Potato, and the Fudge Brownie with Vanilla and Strawberry frosting was our menu for our 1st wedding anniversary. All of these were fruits of my kitchen labor - Labor of Love so they say...

So from here on... we'll say Bon Appetit to each meal of love - from my kitchen to yours!!!