Say hello to momtoadiva from South Central Kentucky!

Food interests: Baking, Canning and other types of food preservation, cake decorating.

Hobbies: Cooking, reading, cross stitch, making hair bows for my daughter and her friends, and collecting cookbooks.

Q. What are your favorite things to cook?
I really enjoy cooking comfort foods for my family – roasted chicken, meat loaf, pot roast, pork chops, mashed potatoes and gravy, macaroni and cheese, soups, chili, and, of course, homemade bread. My kids also like the homemade pizza and pepperoni rolls I make with my homemade bread dough. I also enjoy baking special treats for my family, friends, and co-workers.

Q. How/when did you learn to cook?
I honestly can’t remember a time that I didn’t know SOMETHING about cooking. I remember standing in a chair at the kitchen table mixing cornbread in my mom’s McCoy mixing bowl when I was about three, and I have always been fascinated with cooking and baking. My mom taught me so much about cooking, and I absolutely LOVE cookbooks! I enjoy sitting down with a new cookbook just to see what new and exciting recipes it may hold.

Q. Tell us about some of your cooking triumphs.
The biggest triumph in cooking for me was when I made the entire Thanksgiving dinner for my whole family when I was 18. My Mom had emergency gallbladder surgery two days before Thanksgiving, and my older sister can’t cook and had no idea how to prepare any part of the meal. It turned out great!

Q. What was your most memorable cooking tragedy?
The most memorable was when I was cooking chicken leg quarters on the gas grill. I got distracted by the telephone and one of the kids I was babysitting at the time, and forgot about the chicken. When I got back to it, it was completely charred! We had baked beans, cole slaw, and “gourmet bologna” sandwiches for dinner that night!

Q. Describe your kitchen. Do you love it, hate it, and why?
I love, love, love my kitchen! I have two huge windows that are almost floor to ceiling that let in a lot of natural light and the sun shines in the mornings. My kitchen is not huge, but I have a lot of cabinet and counter space, but everything is still pretty well in easy reach. I have a floor-to-ceiling pantry cabinet, where I keep my bulk flour and sugar in food grade plastic storage bins as well as most of the canned food and various pastas.

Q. Is your pantry organized and are your kitchen drawers tidy? We need to know.
My pantry is organized for the most part. Sometimes it gets a little messy from the kids getting things out and not putting them back where they belong, but it is quickly remedied. I have things arranged in rows, in alphabetical order and rotate to make sure I don’t let anything go out of date. My kitchens drawers are fairly tidy – to the point that I could reach in with my eyes closed and find the items I want.

Q. Do you have any favorite family cooking traditions?
One of my favorites is making gingerbread houses and sugar cookies with the kids at Christmas. My six-year-old is very detail oriented and will spend hours making sure her gingerbread house is just perfect. Her seven-year-old brother really doesn’t care. He just wants to get done so he can eat it. Even my 16-year-old will still sit down with us and make his. With the cookies – they just love to put icing and sprinkles on the cookies, and they make a huge mess, but the family time together is more important. There will always be messes to clean up, but my kids won’t be little for long.

Q. What is the one gadget (or ten) you couldn’t do without in your kitchen?
My KitchenAid stand mixer is a must, along with my cast iron skillets, griddle, and loaf pans. Also, I’m pretty attached to my baking stones. And of course, I must have a good whisk and good knives.

Q. If you had to take one food to a deserted island, what would it be?
Do I have to just pick one? Probably potatoes – because there are so many ways to prepare them.

Q. What is your go-to comfort food?
Homemade bread. There is something about a fresh-from-the-oven slice of bread with some butter on it that feels like a big warm hug.

One of momtoadiva’s favorite recipes that’s been submitted to Farm Bell:

• Bacon Ranch Sandwich Spread

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