On what I can pass you

Anyone who sat empty-plated at my gradmother-in-law's dinner table long enough would always receive the same earnest question--"what can I pass you?"

Grandma Alyce was warm and generous and something delicious was always baking in her oven.

My own mother doesn't bake so much, but she sure does cook. Every night growing up she made us dinner. Every morning she packed us lunch. (Yes, I'm sure I could find no less than 20 classmates who remember her sandwiches. I could barter those sandwiches for gold if I needed to...) And, like Grandma Alyce, my mother's main intentions when cooking are to send you home feeling well-fed and content. Enchiladas. Homemade chips and salsa. Taquitos. Ceviche. And some interesting versions of American food, like meatloaf, with a Mexican spin only my mother could pull off. Don't ever think you can go to her house without at least sampling something she's made.

I like to think I'm at least half as good a cook as my mom and at least half as good a baker as Grandma Alyce (and my mother-in-law for that matter, whose ice cream roll and dark chocolate cake are to be rivaled by none). And, like my mom, mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law, my intentions are to share too--both my own recipes (which includes our recipes) and the recipes I find, and (should you live close enough, friends), the products of these recipes.

And, since I love cooking, and love baking, I'm happy to be able to share these things with you.