Filed under: Cooking
(ALSO Posted on the “She Started It” Page…. Post by my mother! 😀 )
Whoa, hold on a minute! I started it? My lovely, sweet, bloggerbaby daughter claims that I am to blame for this off-road cooking thing?? Let’s get this straight. From my perspective, she started it! Some of my earliest, funniest memories of veering off the beaten food path began when my daughter, Larisa, was still an infant.
To set the scene, let me take you back 23 years.…It’s 7 am. I am propped against the kitchen sink, disheveled and bleary-eyed from the latest round of sleep deprivation that marks every new parent’s first year on the job, seeking out the coffee pot through one half-opened eyelid. Suddenly I am startled by a shriek of delight! Immediately my eyes pop open. I look down to see an innocent face with huge brown eyes excitedly gazing back up at me from the body of my one-year-old crumb-encrusted daughter, firmly cemented to her high chair by oatmeal goo and apple juice.
That’s when two baby hands packed with squishy, slimy mushmash wave triumphantly as they fling her latest concoction of gooey glop across the room. A smile breaks out across her cherubic face. I imagine a little thought bubble popping up from the spikes of matted-down hair on the top of her head: “Yes! It stuck to the wall this time! Aren’t you proud of what my new recipe can do, Mommy?!”
I am instantly reminded of cats and dogs that admiringly place their latest roadkill on the front porch as a sign of respect. This thought reminds me of our animal nature. It must be our instinct to enjoy our food and take pleasure in presenting it to others whom we love. This little critter of mine, as grimy as she was, had just taught me a memorable first lesson in cooking family style: it’s not always pretty, but it sure is an adventure!
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Off-Road Cooking 
Hahaha! This is a great story mom!!! I think you are off to a great start in the world of blogging! ‘Bloggerbaby’–what a GREAT word!!!
Comment by Livy February 6, 2011 @ 9:23 am