Mom Test Kitchen: Cooking Up Stories

I grew up in the kitchen with my mama and grandmas and aunties. When I was a little girl my mama let me draw pictures in the flour. As I got older, I got to do more grown-up jobs. She taught me how to read recipes, measure ingredients and decipher spices. 

Next to the great samples of the food, I loved being in the kitchen because that’s where the best stories were cooking.

When I sat at the table with my grandma rolling lumpia, she would tell me about her childhood growing up in the Philippines and Hawaii. Grandma would giggle about the days when my grandpa would dedicate songs to her on the radio. She would share techniques for Filipino cooking.

When I would pull up a stool to the counter, my mama would tell me about her adventures in the kitchen with her dad. I learned about our Italian-American heritage. I discovered the secret pasta sauce recipe. My mama unraveled the stories of her failures and roots of her faith.

We bonded right there in the kitchen.

When my first daughter was born, I invited her into the kitchen the way the women in my family had invited me. We made batches of peanut butter granola together. Meilani would help me mix and pour and create. We would tell stories about when I was a little girl her age.

I named my second daughter after my favorite Italian chef, Giada. My Giada has always been my sidekick. She loves to get her hand in the mix. She loves to roll. And most of all she loves to taste. She's famous for saying, "When does the licking begin?"

I believe the kitchen is a place to test out a lot more than just recipes. It’s a place where we can embrace our stories. It’s a place where we can laugh and cry together. This may sound old-fashioned, but it’s a place where we as women and mamas can find a kind of therapy. 

Whenever I get to making a meal, I hear that familiar scrape across the tile. These days it’s my almost-two-year-old pulling up a stool to help mama. It’s easy to brush her aside, to want to do it myself – the faster, easier, less messy way. Yet I know it’s time to invite her in too. 

I want her to hear the stories, to see the beauty in our mess.

Dorina Lazo Gilmore is the Coordinator for The Bridge MOPS group. She loves creating new recipes and sneaking chocolate from the little cupboard over the sink. Her children’s book, CORA COOKS PANCIT, includes a secret family recipe. Find more of her recipes at www.health-full.blogspot.com.