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Ellen's Kitchen: Sharing a passion for cooking

By Ellen Fox Emerson
FauquierNow.com Publisher

When we sold our newspapers a little more than five years ago, many friends asked about my plans for all that free time I would have. The simple answer: to do what I enjoy most, cook and garden, all the while trying to figure out what my next career would be.

For those of you who don’t know me, I’ll share a little bit. I am very fortunate to have grown up in a home where my mother truly enjoyed cooking. Most of our meals (a family of seven) were together, either at the kitchen or dining room table. Sunday dinner was always special and the one day of the week when dessert was included.

If I ever needed to find my mother, the kitchen was generally the place. She subscribed to Gourmet Magazine, the only one of its kind, and watched the Galloping Gourmet. Eventually her mentor, Julia Child, came on and then the television came into the kitchen. So it is from her delight in cooking that I and my three sisters and brother share that passion.

The first cookbook given to me (on my 18th birthday), “Great Dinners from Life,” is still my favorite. I like it because if offers complete menus, is divided into seasons and, most of all, because it has pictures. That is how I hope to present recipes with this website.

My collection of cookbooks probably numbers 300. I have countless cooking websites and recipes bookmarked and sill subscribe to Fine Cooking, a wonderful magazine. My idea of a perfect Sunday afternoon, depending on the season, of course, features flames in the fireplace and just browsing through cookbooks planning meals.

Now that you know where the interest comes from, we’ll fast forward.

During the first spring of “retirement,” Lou built 12 raised garden beds for me. The next several years, while tending to the herbs, fruits, flowers and vegetables, I would dream of having my own website about food - how it is grown and how to prepare it. Little did I know that we would one day launch a news and information website for Fauquier County.

I’ve chosen to focus on cooking. I’m very fortunate, with the launch of FauquierNow.com. It’s the perfect opportunity to follow through on all of that daydreaming.

So with this column/blog, it is my hope to pass along recipes of interest that are relatively easy to prepare and taste good too. I’ll begin with the very basics.

I also plan to share ideas for entertaining, from an elegant dinner for two to a buffet for 52. My recipes are primarily made “from scratch,” just fresh and ordinary ingredients, but that is not to say they’re boring. And with each column, I hope to have a complete menu so you don’t have to try to figure what to serve with what.

Here’s hoping you’ll find this column fun and informative and that you’ll share comments and ask questions.