In 1973, I attended my first cooking class.  It’s a Small World Junior Cooking School was presented by the Public Service Company of Colorado.  I am not sure if I asked to go, or if my mom signed me up to get me out of the house for a while.  As indicated in the course title, the theme was international cuisine.  As an adult I look through the course cookbook and think, “Really, that’s your idea of international cuisine?”  Perhaps that was the thought in 1973.  The recipes included: Scottish Tea Scones; Tamale Hero Sandwiches; Red’n White Soccer Salad; Wikiwiki Walk-Away Dessert; Creamy Alpine Sherbet; Chicken Egg Foo Yung and Foo Yung Sauce; Russian Tea Cakes; Salsa Cruda; Tropical Lime Cooler; and Kolache (sweet pastry).  Two of the recipes I liked: WikiWiki Walk-Away Dessert, and Russian Tea Cakes (similar to Mexican Wedding Cookies) – which I still make today.

I still have the huge cookbook (17 pages) from the class.  Looking through the cookbook I noticed there was no copyright protection.  In the recipe section of my blog you will find a couple of the recipes for your enjoyment, which may have been changed a bit. 

My next post will be on Grandma Doles Cookies and the memories making and sharing the deliciousness!

Welcome to my blog!  This site has been in my brain for quite some time.  I finally pulled the trigger.  This old dog is up to new tricks and learning as I go.  My hope for this site is a place to share my food wisdom, stories, tips, and favorite recipes and cooking websites.

So let’s start with a story.

Do you remember your first cooking experience?  I finished my 25th year as a Family and Consumer Science teacher.  Yes I have gotten to play with food for a quarter century.  One might think I came out of the womb cooking, far from it.  My interest in cooking didn’t start until my pre-teen years.  I didn’t start on anything easy, oh no!  I had to start with a layer cake.  The underlying motive was I wanted to surprise my mom with a cake for dessert.  I thought she might enjoy and appreciate it after a long day of work.

With the help of my brother, the cake turned out wonderful, the frosting was another story.  Keep in mind, this was back in the early 1970’s.  Yes there were cake mixes, just as today, but the frosting was a dry powder mix too.  There was no open the can and spread on the frosting.  Still being green in understanding cooking terms, I did not prepare the frosting as directed.  I was eleven or so and I thought softened butter was the same as melted butter – as many of my students do at the beginning of the school year.

Can you guess how the frosting turned out?  Can you say “glaze?”  There was no spreading the frosting on the cake, it was poured!!  The positive is that it was chocolate!  It was still tasty, just a bit unconventional in appearance.

People say we learn from our mistakes, and cooking is no exception.  Had I given up on cooking with that first experience I would not be where I am today.  Lesson of the story: keep playing with food!