Helping my Grandmama in the kitchen was fun. My Grandmama would show me how to prepare for making a gumbo. I would chop up onions, green onions and bell pepper. The smell of the onion made me cry. The aroma of the gumbo spices would let you know that something good was cooking. Besides gumbo, my Grandmama would cook other great dishes like prime rib, collard greens and bake candied yams. My favorite was the gumbo. Watching my Grandmama then has made me a good gourmet cook today.
 

The first time I smelled my grandmother’s cooking I was five years old. I was sitting in the living room watching Sesame Street. They were talking about the letter ‘H’. I was sitting on the floor. My brother was playing with his G.I. Joe dolls. I smelled the jandules with rice. She put tomato in the sauce and I could smell the tomato cooking with the rice. Then I got up and went into the kitchen. She was making a roast, too. She said something in Spanish, what was it? She said, “Hi, mejah.’ I smiled. She smiled back.  I had to have more. I love my grandmother’s cooking.