Mosaic, it must have been very disheartening to learn to bake yummy things with your grandmother and then later in life when you were dieting not to be able to eat the things you learned to make. And of course cooking nice food for your family and then eating diet food would be very discouraging.

I remember making Christmas cookies with my grandmother, but I didn't really learn to cook until I was a teenager, and of course what I learned to cook first was desserts. I don't remember how I learned to cook the other foods. I do remember that when my mother made things with cheese, my sister and I fought over who got to grate the cheese.

I'm looking forward to trying some of the recipes because dinners at our house have gotten functional but a bit boring. I've also got some cookbooks I need to go through to find some new favorites. I want to try the Yorkshire pudding, but I think I need to buy a metal muffin tin first. We only have a silicone one and of course that won't heat up.
Allison

: I cant wait to hear what you think
: Jen !

: will you start with a breakfast type
: recipe or just one that takes your
: fancy? I'm laughing as I think
: anything goes for breakfast so for
: me any recipe would

: I was really lucky as when I was
: little it was my job to sit in the
: step=stool in the kitchen and Id
: be given mixing bowls to stir...
: the real thing I would be actually
: 'helping', and pastry with a
: little rolling pin of my own. Or
: on bread day I would be kneading
: little loaves. So I sort of
: absorbed cooking at grandmas knee
: That was her version of
: babysitting , and a good thing
: too. Ah such happy memories ! If I
: was really careful I was allowed
: to put the handkerchiefs through
: the mangle. That was a real treat.
: Can you believe it ! ? ( and I'm
: not that old LOL)

: I got disillusioned with cooking
: though with a young family and no
: time, lost all that relaxation
: aspect of it. Or to be honest,
: soul less "diet" cooking
: was a big factor. Only for me,
: everyone else got edible stuff, I
: had cardboard and tears . So
: it was such a treat to have my
: inner cook wake up again with the
: steps .

: and with the emphasis back onto
: flavour and enjoyment it is such
: fun.