My Cooking Roots:
I’d
like to tell you that I took an early interest in cooking and was my mom’s
constant assistant in the kitchen as I was growing up.
But
that just isn’t true.
In
fact, I was so absent from the kitchen that one of my own relatives scoffed at
me at my bridal shower for adding kitchen items to my gift registry. When
questioned about the comment, she added, “Well, Amy is no ‘Susie Homemaker’,
now is she?”
So I
wasn’t much of a cook, it’s true. But what I did learn from my mother
while I was growing up was the importance of the entire family gathering
together each night for a home cooked meal. Plus, visiting my mom in the
kitchen all those years while she cooked dinner, I couldn’t help but pick up a
few things!
It
wasn’t until several years later that cooking really started to become
important to me. By that time I was a stay at home mom and my first son
(Dude) had just begun eating table food. Suddenly, I cared a lot more
about what I was feeding my family. Added to that, Dude had typically
been a picky eater.
So I
started calling my mom asking for all those wonderful recipes from my
childhood. And I watched as my Grandma (the family baker) made her
breads. And I started reading cookbooks, and eventually blogs and started
on my very own cooking adventure.
My
Goals:
My goal is to make
healthy, delicious meals that the whole family can enjoy and to expand their
palates to make adventurous (or at least less picky) eaters.
I love taking risks in
the kitchen. One thing my wonderful husband has taught me is that cooking
experiments are always welcome, as long as McDonald’s or Little Caesars is an
option in the event of a cooking disaster.
The Photos:
I am not a
professional photographer (obviously) but I'm slowly honing my photography
skills. In photos pre-February 2014, I used a Fujifilm FinePix S 700
which is a higher end point & shoot. But in March 2014, Hubs bought me
my first DSLR, a Nikon D5200 for my birthday!
I still have a lot to learn! I take all my own photos.
Meet the Fam!
Amy:
Yep that’s me! The lady behind the food! A little more about me: I love to cook & bake (duh) and decorate
cakes and cookies (don’t miss Amy’s Confectionery Adventures!). And I'm from the upper mid-west (think hot summers and very cold, very snowy winters.)
I have a Master’s in
Elementary Education and Reading
I have 3 children, two
here on Earth and one Angel Baby (more on them in a bit) and being home with
them means more than anything.
I’m completely in love
with desserts of any kind and I typically eat something sweet after lunch and
dinner. Sometimes I wonder why I can’t
have dessert with breakfast.
To balance that all
out, I’m also a Zumba instructor, love to ride my bike (weather permitting),
and I run once a week or so.
In my free time, I
love to read, scrapbook, and sew!
And also, I despise
housecleaning. I like to call my look
“organized chaos”.
Hubs:
The love of my
life! We were married in June of 2006,
and he truly is my best friend. We’ve
been through wonderful times and very hard times, but it’s only made us stronger.
Hubs is the official
taste tester for all of my recipes. He’s
also my very talented “Artist in Residence” when I bite off more than I can
chew for my cake designs!
Dude:
Dude is 6 years old
and a little spitfire. He’s my “mini me”! We’re so much alike in both personality and
looks.
Dude just started
first grade and excels at reading. He
loves electronics and electricity and we think we have a little engineer in the
making!
Dude used to be an
extremely picky eater (when he was 2, he would only eat crackers), but by
exposing him to a lot of different foods and enforcing a “try at least 1 bite”
rule, he is much less picky than before.
Not quite an adventurous eater yet, but we’ll get there!
Spud:
Spud just turned 4 and
just started preschool. He’s Hubs’ mini
me.
He’s sweet as sugar,
but he’ll hulk out when you’re not watching!
He is also completely hilarious and a serious jokester in the making.
He loves to “read”
books and play endless games of CandyLand (I’m happy to oblige).
Being 4, Spud is still
a pretty picky eater. But he loves to dip things in sour cream and spicy BBQ
Sauce. Plus he loves pickles. Yep, I
sense an adventurous soul in there somewhere!
Sarah Catherine:
Our Angel Baby.
Sarah Catherine was
stillborn on December 18, 2013. I chronicle
my journey through grief and my thoughts on being the mother of an Angel Baby
on my Angel Wings Wednesdays posts. They
don’t show up every Wednesday, just when they need to.
Sarah Catherine isn’t
with us physically, but she’ll always be in our hearts.
Photos Taken September
5, 2014
Page Updated September
17, 2014
