My mom made a point to teach me and my sister when we were kids. We even had to plan dinners and cook it. I then made a point to take home ec in middle school. But my mom has a collection of cookbooks she is very proud of. She reads cookbooks like people read fiction books.

Home cooking was a staple for my family. My grandparents raised my mom and her brothers on the farm. For a little while I even lived on that farm. But even though we mostly lived in town for most of my life, the fact that most meals were home cooked didn't change.