Age 5 Mom’s “sous chef”

Even though it’s been more than a half century, I still reminisce about my times helping my mom in the kitchen while I was growing up. It’s only recently that it dawned on me how these experiences had shaped my entire life.

Mom in later years back in UK

Mom encouraged me to be creative and experiment. I might have been 5 years old at the time, but I remember taking some condiments out of the pantry and mixing them together to make some kind of sauce. I remember bitters was part of it and even though it must’ve tasted dreadful, my mother told me it was wonderful. 

My mother fostered not only my lifetime love of cooking, but also my passion for developing my own recipes and experimenting with foods and techniques which I believe led to my eventual career as an engineer. Mom’s favorite saying was always, “Find a better way.” In both the kitchen and my career, I was always “finding a better way.”

Mom educating the next generation

What I remember most about out times in the kitchen was our baking. Mom was a big-time baker and she taught me so much. By the time I was her baking partner, I was a bit older and trustworthy around her electric appliances. I fondly remember her GE stand mixer and hand mixer and remember how proud I was of myself when she finally trusted me to use them!

Those two mixers saw a lot of use. Ever the engineer, I found some more unusual uses for them, such as mixing blends of coffee, mixing up a meatloaf and mashing potatoes. Nowadays, they’re not such unusual uses, but back in the 1950s and early 1960s they were.

Years later, when Mom moved back to England, I inherited those mixers–which still worked too! It will sound foolish, but after so many years of use, they seemed to absorb the scents of things we made. I could still smell the ghosts of yesteryear’s cake batters every time I turned on the hand mixer and it would bring me back to the days I was mom’s little helper in the kitchen.

I’ve retired those GE mixers but I still keep them for the many memories attached to them as mom moved and has since passed away. All of my family besides me lives across the “Great Pond,” so it’s only me left in the USA.

Since I have no blood relations living close to me, many close friends have become like family to me which is why I was so inspired by the GE #OurAmericanKitchen webisode about the Richards family. The Richards’ prove that “family” is all about love, not necessarily blood ties.

Enjoying food & family

Family isn’t just blood relations!

My new “tradition” is enjoying many meals with close friends who have become just like family. Sharing laughs and good conversation is how I now celebrate my American Kitchen. Let’s hear what your American Kitchen means to you!

Watch the Richards Family story here!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of GE Appliances. The opinions and text are all mine.

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