PanNan

about me

I love to cook and bake, grow fresh herbs, read cookbooks, try new recipes, and collect kitchen appliances and gadgets. On weekends, I love to go to farmers markets and go antique hunting.

I work full time (plus) as a law firm office manager. My DH and I have been married for 28 years, and we have three kids, two granddaughters, and a new grandson born 12/13/07. The oldest DS and the granddaughters live in Wisconsin, too many miles away. DD and grandson live real close to us, so we get to enjoy having a grand nearby to spoil. The youngest DS is an engineering major expected to graduate in December 2008. We get to see him on school breaks.

I currently spend all my spare time at the hospital visiting my grandson, who has been there 4 months as of 4/28/08. When he was two weeks old he had to have a large volume of his small intestine removed and while he is otherwise very healthy and normal in development, he is working up to full nutrition by mouth, and we're hopeful he'll be able to go home soon.

Interest in cooking is something I was born with apparently (that's me in the top photo). I was cooking meals for the family when I was 10. By the time I was 15 I had a pretty good collection of cookbooks (some of which I still own). My cooking is influenced by my Dutch father and the years I spent growing up in the Netherlands, by my Oklahoma mother and grandmother (who was also a fabulous cook - she owned a cafe during the depression years), and living the last 34 years of my life in the Texas Coastal South. I also thank my sister-in-law, who is from Mexico City, for sharing her recipes and knowledge of Mexican food. I traveled a lot as a kid (Europe and U.S.), and remember trying new foods along the way. I still love to travel whenever we get a vacation, and you'll find me eating where the locals eat, checking out the local grocery stores, and collecting regional cookbooks as souvenirs.

Favorite Foods:

DH and I prefer a good variety of well prepared and seasoned food. We don't like bland food, so I season with herbs, savory or spicy vegetables, spices, and lemon (LOVE lemon) but generally shy away from heavy or cheesy sauces. Particularly during the week, I think simple and flavorful is best.

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