MamaJo Diva

I grew up on a farm in Wisconsin as a young girl, whose mother always had a large garden of all types of vegetables and fruits. Summer consisted of a bounty of fresh produce on our plates while the rest of the year consisted of utilizing the talents of her abundant canning and frozen foods. There were fresh laid eggs, and she butchered her own chickens, the sight of which a chicken running around with it’s head off, squirting blood, seemingly to be chasing me around the yard will for ever be with me. We grew our own beef and pork as well. I ate ‘organic’ before there was ever such a thing. Chicken actually had a flavor and tasted like chicken without having to season and sauce it to death. Since my mother was mostly a vegetarian, I learned to enjoy the unique flavors of the most unusual vegetables. What a shock it was as a newly wed to discover that my husband only ate green peas and creamed corn out of a can!

Mother also baked her own bread, cakes and pies, going on to become one of the most sought after wedding cake bakers for brides in the area. Her cinnamon sweet rolls and coffee cakes at breakfast were unbelievable. There were always cookies, cakes and pies in the house. Obviously there were always wonderful smells in her kitchen. And what a bounty of foods she would produce during holiday sit down dinners with crystal, china and cloth napkins of twenty or more people. Unbelievable because she had the smallest of kitchens and no counter space to work with.

Eating out was something we never did because money was tight, but mother made certain that as a family we did learn to enjoy the art of fine dining. We had to eat pasta the correct way, twirling the spaghetti in a spoon. Sundays after church we would enjoy ‘restaurant’ food. A favorite was the grilled hamburgers with her homemade buns, fresh cut French fries and onion rings made in her gigantic deep fryer, and handmade chocolate malts. She collected cookbooks and clipped recipes, introducing us to international cuisine above and beyond what most of my friends ever had tasted. I read cookbooks like novels to the point that I can actually see and taste the food. Yet I will read several recipes only to set them aside and go off on my own to create my own interpretation. Reading menus has also always intrigued me. Hence my love of food, and the chemistry associated with its creation and the artistic presentation that goes with it.

Kimber Diva

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