Gardens, Cookbooks, Women and Wine

Cookbooks and Herbs in the Kitchen

“Begin, be bold, and venture to be wise.” 
― Horace

The scene is a Holiday Party; this isn’t a trendy New York get together.  This is a families and friends get together in Minnesota.  Women with glasses of wine near the kitchen buzzing around preparing, uncovering dishes to be shared.  The men near a large screen TV close to the appetizers drinking a beer from the can or bottle.  The men, who knows what they are talking about, I think sports.  But in the kitchen the women are talking about recipes, kids and men, in that order.  Occasionally, a man will walk into the kitchen to say, “Wow, honey the hot meatballs are great, you should get the recipe.” And then he walks out, all the women’s heads are down, the wife in question makes a loud sign and then says, “Shannon, is that your mother recipe?”  Shannon replies, “Yes it is, you got it, he’s just forgotten since we only make it once a year.”  And then the women all laugh, rolling their eyes at the silliness of the situation.  Then someone tastes the squash, “Oh my goodness, Dottie are these good!”  Which Dottie responds “Oh it’s so easy; I got the recipe out of the newspaper.  I’ll send you the recipe.”  This is a Midwest Holiday Party and Kitchen. 

The scene is a BBQ Party; this isn’t a trendy California get together.  This is a families and friends get together in Minnesota.  Women with glasses of wine in or near the kitchen buzzing around preparing, uncovering dishes to be shared.  The men near a grill close to the appetizers are drinking a beer from the can or bottle talking about sports or comparing grilling techniques.  I only know this because it outside you can actually hear what the men are talking about.  As families pick up their plates of food, women's conversation change from kids and work to recipes and kids.  The night will end with the exchange of recipes.

As our kids go off to college, a lot of the families start gardens.  Some of the men and women work together in the garden, some of separately.  However, most will tell you they start their gardens because they like to eat.  They like the taste of a tomato just off the vine, they like the taste of fresh pick green beans, or they love homemade salsa.  After a crazy day a work they suddenly crave the peace of their garden.  Sitting back in lawn chairs, listening to the bees while I drink a glass of wine and my husband has his beer has been one of the highlights in our house on a summer eve.  

So this year I’m going to explore gardens, recipe sharing, cookbooks and a bit of wine.  Add to that I want my husband and me to lose some weight.  I want to eat more locally.  I want to become more educated on organic foods and what GMO is.  I want to get more in touch with my roots.  This will be a journey that goes between the kitchen and the garden, a journey between family and friends, a journey between of the past and the changing world of today.  Which is a lot to explore, but should be interesting and entertaining!