About Me (and my family)

I was lucky to have two European grandmothers who were both excellent cooks.  My maternal grandmother was Serbian, and my paternal grandmother (Granny) was Lithuanian.  Throughout my childhood and much of my adult life, I was able to sample a wide variety of dishes they both had prepared and learned a lot from them in the kitchen.  My maternal grandfather was Polish, so my culinary samplings expanded further into the European realm with regularity.

 

Throw in a mixture of family friends and relatives of other ethnicities (Ukrainian—like my wife and her family, Italian, Mexican, Indian, etc.), and my experimentation in the kitchen became expansive.  As a child, I remember watching our local public television station (WTTW in Chicago) with Julia Child and others and picking up techniques for my kitchen “toolbox”.  Add to that the plethora of skilled cooks and chefs available on the internet, and my inspiration and influence abounded.

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I created family-recipe cookbooks as holiday gifts for my eldest sons two years ago, using all the recipes I had obtained (and/or recreated through batch-testing) from my grandmothers and other family members.  I created a recipe template on my computer, added photos, and had our youngest son help me with the artwork and coloring for the cookbook binders.  It was a fun and memorable project, and it will keep the family recipes alive for future generations.

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When I first met my wife’s family in Ukraine, I watched my mother-in-law cook the entire day for our meal that first evening of my visit.  I didn’t speak Russian, and she didn’t speak English, but between hand gestures, visual identification of ingredients, and my taking notes, I learned a lot.  She made about a dozen different dishes, like borscht, several appetizers and vegetable salads, fresh (raw) veggies and herbs, kotlety (pork cutlets with sauteed onions), etc., and everything I ate was delicious.

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Throughout my life, I’ve never been a big meat eater.  I went vegan for about six months more than a year ago and experimented greatly with many different recipes.  I found that I really missed some of the dairy-made staples, like real mozzarella cheese on pizza, and eggs.  I also missed the occasional indulgence of a fish filet.  I found a happy medium by moving myself to a more vegetarian diet.  Many of the plant-based “meats” available today can be substituted for meats in countless recipes, and I’ve also done some creative stuff with marinated tofu (which will basically absorb the flavor of whatever is used to cook it).

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While I don’t have any formal culinary training, I know my way around the kitchen, and have used time-tested, five-star recipes, family favorites, classics, and others that I’ve created or modified to make my own based on my taste (and the preferences of my family’s palette). 

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As I taught--and continue to teach--my four sons how to prepare different recipes, I’ve usually taken photos (and some videos) of what I’ve created and shared them on Facebook (along with the corresponding recipes or notes).  I regularly receive positive feedback from others regarding the inspiration created with my food posts, and comments from those who have “sampled the goods”.  On countless occasions I’ve been asked when I’ll be creating a food blog, so I’ve finally taken the plunge!

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I hope you enjoy what I share and learn something in the process—whether it is related to “Sun” (solar energy), or “Batch” (food, preparation, tips, gardening, composting, etc.), and what you can do in either case to reduce your carbon footprint and make the world a better place for us and our future generations.

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Peace and love to you, all!