"Tis the Season

Norman Rockwell

'Tis the season to fill everyone's heart with something tasty to eat!  The best gift a cook could ever receive is the satisfaction on their guests' faces when they indulge in something you have prepared with your own two hands. The love that is shared during this process is priceless.  Whether it is friend to friend, family to family, friend to family, cook to cook, or cook to guest, there simply is no replacement for the joy it brings to one who loves to cook and share.  This my friends is the passion of food.



The most passionate of times seem to be the holidays.  This is when we plan huge family gatherings, and prepare vast amounts of tasty comfort dishes to warm our hearts on the coldest of days.  We laugh, we sing songs.  We spread cheer, and we enjoy the twinkle in the little ones' eyes, opening that first gift from Grandma.  These are the most special times, the times we'll remember the most.

Growing up, we had a large family.  There were holidays when we ate 4-5 meals in one day (holiday meals that is), a meal for every house hold we visited.  After all, you couldn't visit without eating, right??  And there was always something special about each house we visited.   On Christmas Eve, Gingi made the best "green" chocolate meringue pie...lol. (It may have been green, but it was the best green one I've ever seen!) On Christmas Day, Mema made the best potato casserole. Mrs. Rhew made the best butter biscuits with every meal.  Mrs. Dalton makes the best pot of vegetable soup in Moriah on Christmas night, and it's because she stands over a hot stove all day, adding that one special ingredient.

Mrs. Dalton-the best soup!

The green choc meringue pie

My niece at Christmas breakfast

But, the most heart warming meal growing up was (and still is) breakfast on Christmas morning.  While we were playing with what had Santa brought, my mom was busy putting her love into a huge crock pot of buttery, thick grits.  There was nothing better than a big bowl of buttery grits that warmed the soul as they went down. Along with these awesome grits, there was usually sausage and ham biscuits, sweet breads, and of course, CHOCOLATE!  This was the only time that dessert was ever allowed at breakfast, and it was usually a chocolate santa from our stocking, or the miscellaneous Hershey Kiss laying around in the candy dish. These are special times...all because of the love that Mom put into making Christmas breakfast special for me, my brother, and my sister.

My husband, brother, nephew, & step-dad on Christmas morning

My sister, nephew, mom and I on Christmas morning

So, I leave you with this little bit of knowledge, from my cupboard to yours...K.I.S.S.--Keep It Simply Simple...don't focus on the materialistic things during the holidays...go back to the basics and remember the reason for the season.  Remember to love and be loved.  As my cousin Zach the farmer would have said, "Bless this food and the ones who raised it. Amen."