Hello! My name is Molly, but I have also been know as “Auntie” since my first niece, Sara, was born in 1981. I had just turned 12 years old, and I thought it was about the coolest thing ever to have such a title. Several years and several nieces and nephews (both blood related and chosen family) later, I still think it’s the coolest thing, right up there with being called mom. In fact, it’s for them I decided to start this blog – thus the somewhat kitschy name.
Food has been a prominent theme in my life story. There were many good cooks on my mom’s side of the family, and on my dad’s side, cooking and eating were of utmost importance. My fondest early memories are in my Grandma Ina’s tiny kitchen in Bend, freshly baked rolls on the table by the window and something delicious bubbling on the stove, and in my own family’s kitchen in Eugene, OR, baking cakes and cookies with my mom.
When I was eight years old, my dad realized his dream of opening a restaurant, and that is where I spent my formative years. In the early years, I spent evenings there eating soup and rolls, doing homework, honing my sarcasm skills with the bartenders, stealing chocolate from the bakery, and falling asleep on cushioned wicker chairs I would push together to make a bed.
I started making my grandma’s dinner rolls in the upstairs bakery when I was a freshman in high school. That was my job until I graduated. I then began baking all the desserts for the restaurant and working the salad and sauté sections in the kitchen with my brother Billy, the chef. It was hard to say goodbye at the age of 24 when Bob and I moved on to our next chapter and even harder when the restaurant closed four years later. It was my childhood home as much as the house where I grew up.
After several years in Illinois, we returned to Oregon, this time to Bend, where my dad grew up, and started our family. Having our girls has inspired me to cook most meals at home and has reignited my passion for cooking.
Since June 2011, I’ve been posting cherished family recipes to preserve them for my nieces, nephews, and daughters. In the process, I have found that what I most love is developing recipes of my own, focusing on wholesome, healthy ingredients. I am also passionate about providing detailed instruction to teach and demystify the cooking process for those who tend to avoid the kitchen. In addition to my love of cooking, I love to read and write about food, and I also really enjoy taking photos, so this blog has been a perfect creative outlet for me. I hope to continue encouraging and inspiring home cooking because I truly believe it’s essential to our health and well-being.
