I left San Antonio, Texas in August of 2004 on a wing and a prayer, with every expectation of returning within half a year. Since then, I have had many adventures all over the world, both because of my job at Travelocity and my handsome and clever British husband, James. But I have also been on a culinary journey for many different reasons, first and foremost of which – I was and am homesick!
For better or worse, I live in New Jersey now. I am learning to love it, but I have found that there is just no replacement for a What-A-Burger number 5 or a Las Palapas breakfast taco at 3 a.m. Instead, I endeavor to get a little closer to Tex-Mex Nirvana in my own kitchen.
I’m armed with knowledge and cookbooks passed down to me from my mother and grandmothers, all midwestern women with a love for cooking good food for their families. Most influential is my maternal grandmother, “Nanny”.
My sister and I spent every summer of our childhoods with Nanny and my grandfather, Gaga, in their historic San Antonio home. She involved us in every aspect of the cooking and cleaning process. They also inspired a love of travel and the outdoors by taking us on R.V. trips around the country.
She is the kind of grandmother I aspire to be one day. She never took any lip from us, but she never denied us a cuddle and a kiss either. It is from her that I learned the joy that can be found in kneading your own pie crust, simmering your own soup, and the sighs of contentment in a family well fed by you.
It is my greatest wish to always do this for my family. My husband and I are beginning to think about having a baby. In the meantime, we lavish our attentions on my sister’s kids, Davey and Ava. Oh how I love those two munchkins. It’s hard being so far away from them sometimes.
I am so proud of my sister for insisting on family mealtimes right from the beginning of their lives. Family sit-down dinners are so important for the development of children, and as a family. To make time for sitting down together is a sign of your respect for the family unit – a lesson well learned for any child.
My mother helped me to learn the realistic expectations of a working mother wanting to provide her family with the very best at all times. She still strives to be the very best at her job, and in everything that she does. Making dinner for us each night had to have been an exhausting task without so many of the tips, tricks, and tools that we have now. Many of the recipes I will make here are foods I grew up with, that she lovingly, and with such limited time, prepared for us each night.
It is in the spirit of these two goals – quick and hearty meals to enjoy together – that I create a lot of my posts. Enjoying family and friends is what life is about. You are defined by those that love you, and how you love them back. A dinner or breakfast is one of the simplest ways I can think of to love them back.
My hopes for this blog are simply that you find a recipe that inspires you to get cooking. Involve your kids, your spouse, your sister. Cooking does not have to be a daunting task, or a lonely one. If you go at it with a positive attitude, and really think about the flavors you love, and how they might combine, you really can’t go wrong. Get everyone in the family involved. It creates healthy attitudes about food.
In the immortal words of one of the newer Disney films, “Anyone can cook!”.
If you’d like to send me an email, please do so by emailing amber at bluebonnets and brownies dot com. I’d love to hear from you.
