The Smell of love

Yesterday I was picking up my kids from the bus stop. I was a little early so I was just standing around at the corner..waiting. As I was waiting I began to look around at the homes, who was in, who was not. I turned to a house because I heard the noise of a garage door opening. At once, there was a woman coming out of her front door. She was wearing an apron and was talking on her portable phone; she came out to bring a bag in her garbage can. I was standing across the street from her but the aroma from her home was released in the crisp cool air....mmmm...the smell of home cooked food. She was probably preparing for her children that were getting home from school.

One of my fondest memories from my childhood is stepping off the bus and walking into my house with the wonderful smell of food cooking on the stove. That is something that sticks with me into my adult life and is one of the main reasons I am home for my children every day when they walk in the door from school. If I was in trouble for whatever reason, she would simply remove the wooden spoon from the pot and whip it at my head..it was very convenient for her..lol. I remember like it was yesterday; she was always on the phone with one of my aunts gossiping and laughing. If I would love the meal, I would sit down and get ready to eat. If I hated it (which was often) then I would sulk and whine until I finished every last bite. My mother would reassure me that the food was healthy, good for me and that I better shut up and eat it if I knew what was good for me. She made that food with her love, her time and her money. The worst thing for a mother to hear, is that what she does with love for her children is unappreciated. I understand that now, as a mother. I make food for my kids with good intentions and when they whine about what I made, I can just scream. I try to tell them that they are lucky, I give them the whole "kids are starving" speech, and the "you will appreciate this food when you are older" speech, but they just don't get it. They actually think kids that eat take out every night are lucky..lol.

When a mother cooks a meal for her family, it is done with love and perfection. We make food that our children love; we make food that is good for them; and we make food a part of family time. Every night my family and I sit at the kitchen table and we talk about our day. What was good, what was bad, what was funny and what got them through the day. Food is a part of good times and bad times. It brings people together, talking, laughing, drinking and most importantly eating.

We joke a lot of times how we would like to substitute a pill for food so we wouldn’t worry about weight gain, but we all know we don’t really mean that; food is life. When we eat it, we enjoy every bite of it until our plate is clean.

When our children are newborns, they go through many stages. It begins with breast milk or formula for the first 6 months and then we have the pleasure of introducing pablum to them. We prepare for it and we anticipate the look on their face when they are about to try it for the first time. We are fortunate enough to witness the first scoops of food for our little babies. We then wait a few weeks and once we are given the ok from our paediatrician we begin veggies. We get so excited because we start feeding them. We begin with the basics; peas, carrots, applesauce, and then we progress into others. Eventually we introduce solids and the rest is history.

We cook meals every night for our families because we know it is important. We know that food gets to the heart and heals a lot. It helps when we have a bad day and it replenishes our body when we need it. Making a meal for our families is done with pride and love. We cook with every good intention. There are nights when we cook gourmet, nights we pull out the frozen fries, nights we make bacon and eggs and nights that we experiment on a new recipe, that doesn’t always turn out. We plan our meals in the morning, we think about it all day, and then we begin to prepare from the moment we get in the house. If you are lucky like me, than your children are able to walk in the door every day after school, throw their knapsacks on the floor, wash their little hands and get welcomed with a wonderful smell; the smell of cooking; the smell of love.
That’s my peace today!

White Veggie Pizza
1 pizza dough
1/2 tsp of dried oregano, black pepper
1/2 red pepper sliced
1/2 zucchini sliced
1/2 onion slice
5 mushrooms sliced
1/4 cup of oil
1 mozzarella or 6 medium size bocconcini

Flatten pizza in a greased pan, pour half the oil and sprinkle with the dried spices. Bake in oven at 400 for about 10 minutes (not entirely cooked) Meanwhile place all sliced veggies in a pan with the oil, saute until cooked (about 8 min). Slice the mozzarella or bocconcini and place on half cooked pizza. Add the veggies and place back in oven for another 7-8 minutes (until bottom is golden)