The Grandma Tradition



I love to cook, I love everything about it.  I like planning a menu then shopping for everything needed to make a meal for my family and friends.  I like picking through all the fresh produce for the best of the best to put in the dish.

Probably my fondest memories as a child is sitting on a yellow stool next to the stove while my Grandma Parrott cooked meals. She explained everything she did with such patience and it never seemed like a cooking lesson, it was just spending time with my granny and even though it's been more than 40 years I can remember those times like it was yesterday.

When my daughter was born I had big dreams of teaching her to cook, but Brandi had absolutely no interest in learning. While I like to make everything from scratch she is perfectly happy opening a frozen pot pie and throwing it in the oven. To this day she prefers chicken and dumplings made from canned biscuit dough rather than rolled ones made from scratch...an art I only recently mastered.

My dream came true with Bella though, from the time she was old enough to sit up she has loved sitting next to me in the kitchen and helping me cook.  At only 4 years old she can tell you exactly how to make biscuits and gravy...from scratch.  Likewise vegetable beef soup, roast, and homemade pasta.  I have adorable pictures of her stripped down to her diaper, sitting on the counter and kneading dough.  I learned quickly that it was an absolute necessity to strip her to the skin because the first thing she always did was cover herself in flour.

Today I got to sit back while Brandi and Bella made the pasta from start to finish...it was such a joy to watch. About half way through the long process of taking those little clumps of dough and feeding it through the pasta roller - 10 times through the roller for each clump of dough, Brandi had to stop, but when I stepped in to help Bella finish she sternly told me that SHE could do it by herself...and by George she did!

As we sat at the dinner table we praised Bella on her masterpiece and I must say...it was really quite good!  I can feel my grandma smiling down from heaven as the tradition continues.