/can’t stand
it’s just a quickabout it.Growing Up in the Kitchen
by camilleIn our house, the kitchen is the place to be. The time we spend making din-
ner is hugely important because it gets us together after all our separate
agendas, and when we sit down to eat we have a sense that the food in front
of us is special. Growing vegetables from seed and raising poultry from
hatchlings obviously makes us especially grateful for our food. But just
making dinner from scratch gives us a little time to anticipate its flavor, so
we’ll notice every bite.
Cooking in our family helped me cultivate certain food habits that I later
found out are a little unusual for my generation—for example, I
to eat anything while I’m standing up. I sit down, even if
snack, to make sure this will be a thoughtful munching instead of a passive
grab. I’ll probably carry that habit through my whole life, and nag my kids
I know plenty of families that have dinner together, and some that cook,
but very few that take “cooking from scratch” to the level mine does. I’ve
never had any illusions about how unique it is to have one parent who
makes cheese and another who bakes bread almost daily. The friends I’ve
brought home over the years have usually been impressed and intrigued by
the wacky productions taking place in our kitchen. They definitely enjoyed
eating fresh, warm bread at dinner and homemade cream cheese at lunch.
It was a little awkward, though, when one of my vegetarian friends and I ar-
rived at my house one Saturday when my parents were in the middle of
making turkey sausage.
“What are they doing?” she whispered, as she stared at the tube of en-
cased raw meat that was steadily growing longer on our countertop. “Oh,
that’s just sausage. Don’t worry about it.” I nudged her past the kitchen to-
ward my room. The scenario was a little embarrassing, but it probably