Childhood,raised on Michigan farm. Enjoyed all fruits & veggies grown on the farm. Enjoyed helping & cooking for parents at an early age.Maternal grandmother had great patience teaching & showing me.. Baking cakes & other desserts was fun with all the fruits at hand. Making a pretty plate,reds/greens/yellows/ & all fruit colors. Midwest Beef was a big thing in the 50's.Chicken a 2nd,Pork a 3rd, & many egg dishes. I loved the potatoe pancakes my mom & grandmother made. 2 of my daughters also enjoy making them. 3 times a year and maybe a 4th..Interesting veggie jello salads were healthy & pretty. My mothers spanish rice was the Best!My grandmothers Home Baked Breads & coffee cakes were made every Saturday, year round. Using all veggies in various ways as they were plentiful on the farm. The years I cooked from nothing but the Gourmet magazines. It was challenging and beautiful presentations, and just plain good. Many were very time consuming, and only occasional forays into the magazine now. A gift of Beef Liver from husbands grandmother came in my lst 3 months of marriage. I was unhappy it was not some hamburger, or a beef roast.What to do with a liver, a huge one? I put it all the whole thing into the fry pan, smoke was coming out the kitchen back door.I never lived that one down from my husbands telling of the story. One other instance, while dating my husband was my bragging about Potatoe Pancakes that I made at home. I offerred to make them for 4 of us,at the friends apt.well, a tiny, stove, a cramped kitchen,& no cast iron fry pan, and their utensils to cook & grate with were the very worst. A big flop that night.Needless to say, anything I cooked was at my own home.For sure!