I love cooking, but because my mom is too much of a bimbo and my dad too much of a “manly man” to ever step into the kitchen, I never had the chance to learn from them. I grew up on delivery, takeout, eating out, and the incredible food made by the amazing woman who cooks for our family. I became deeply interested in cooking at the start of my teenage years and taught myself through the internet, books, that same woman, and other relatives.
My mom made a point to teach me and my sister when we were kids. We even had to plan dinners and cook it. I then made a point to take home ec in middle school. But my mom has a collection of cookbooks she is very proud of. She reads cookbooks like people read fiction books.
Home cooking was a staple for my family. My grandparents raised my mom and her brothers on the farm. For a little while I even lived on that farm. But even though we mostly lived in town for most of my life, the fact that most meals were home cooked didn’t change.