I don’t believe in following recipes to the letter, I believe they are a jumping-off point for whatever it is you want to make of them.

You’re not going to find some long story with step by step instructions and videos here. You’re here for the recipe, not a long tale about how I did it.

So oftentimes you’re going to see use this or this or I use this, you decide what you want to use.

I want you to jump off, I want you to learn how to make something new, something different, but most of all I want you to make it yours, not mine.

Play, have fun, cooking shouldn’t be a chore and most people are told what to do every day by teachers, parents, bosses, etc. I’m not here for all that.

Enjoy the food, have fun with it and make memories doing it!!!

How This All Began

I was raised in a home with my Nana who was 1st generation American, her family being from the Azore Island of Faial, and my mother. Food and cooking were huge with them both.

My Nana was raised on a ranch, one of six (though I heard stories there were a couple of others who hadn’t survived a full life) so money was always tight and everything was cooked at home. She also came from a time when the way to a man’s heart was through his stomach and made sure I knew from a young age how to cook because she knew the instant I could I was going to open my wings and fly away. She not only taught me how to cook but how to bake.

My mother was also a very good cook and I liked helping in the kitchen as often as was possible. She taught me to play with flavor and spices. She had this huge book of handwritten recipes, with others stuffed between the pages and it was all held together by rubber bands. When I say book, I’m using the word very loosely LOL, it was a collection of 5×7 notecards with holes punched in them and held together by 2 binder rings. When she passed away the book became mine. I was going to type it all out, have it bound and give a copy to my sister when she got married, that plan didn’t happen. This project has had many stops and starts but this time I found the perfect medium.

We also had a neighbor who should’ve been a chef, there wasn’t a thing that woman couldn’t make. She would bake me an orange cake every year for my birthday and that tradition still holds till today, except now I’m the one making it. She had amazing cookbooks but she always twisted things the way she wanted them to go.

I was surrounded by amazing food and amazing people to learn from.

One of my most memorable days was when I was 11 or 12. I wanted to make supper that night and was given full reign of the kitchen with no interruptions or assistance unless I asked (I didn’t). I also made sure my uncle was there because I wanted to feed everyone. I made london broil with my own marinade, rice, and some vegetable. I knew it was a success when my uncle said it was better than my mother could ever make. You might be thinking he was just being kind because I was a kid but first off, that isn’t how my family operates and secondly, the man had three plates and there wasn’t a single leftover, oh yeah he liked it.

It was at that moment I knew I had this down. I started playing more with flavors and editing the recipes I’d been taught to make them my own and cooking for whatever friend I could. By my late teens, I was making full holiday meals with numerous courses and desserts. By my early 20s friends said I should open a restaurant but I felt that was far too restrictive, having to stand by a certain menu day in and day out with only a little wiggle for specials. So I just kept to what I was doing and slowly but surely this friend mentioned me to that friend who mentioned me to another and I was a personal chef making meals for others and their friends/colleagues. I was also making meals ahead they could heat and eat..Then there were women who weren’t taught how to cook and wanted to impress this guy or wanted to impress the future mother-in-law so suddenly I was teaching cooking skills. I had a business doing what I love built purely by word-of-mouth.

I completed an online diet and nutrition course and a sports-nutrition course, from Aim Redstone Consultancy because in my younger years I was a bodybuilder, and nutrition plus eating healthy have always been important to me. Even more so after I had children of my own. I also attended the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts and completed both their Culinary and Pastry Arts programs because people seem to have more respect for those who’ve been to school >shrug<.

So here I am with the family recipes of both my Nana and mother. Some are original, others I’ve put my own twist on to make them healthier or bring them into the modern-day, after all, when’s the last time you saw a jello mold >shudder<.

My hope is that one of my children will continue this love of food and sharing when I’m gone. Possibly one will take over this blog and keep it going.

I hope you enjoy and remember, food isn’t just about tasting good and being healthy, it’s also about making memories with people you love.

Enjoy and keep on cooking!!!