cat·walk (k t wôk ) n.
1. a narrow ramp extending from the stage into the audience .., esp as used by models in a fashion show2. a narrow, often elevated walkway, as on the sides of a bridge or in the flies above a theater stage, etc.
I like alliterations. (You know: words that start with the same sound.) So, I got “catwalk” in my head when I was trying to think of a name for a cookie blog. It seemed like if I was parading food for photos on the high elevated surface around my kitchen the definition fit pretty well. The blog moved beyond cookies in my brain before I even started but “kitchen” worked too. Whew! (I also like rhymes.)
 |
| This is what I pictured, I guess. |
Conveniently, the word “CORNY” also fits with the title as well as it does with the whole blog.
I am a reasonably competent home cook, and I do pretty well with cookies, but I am no chef! I do however have lots of young women friends and family that have asked me to teach them how to cook or bake through the years and that isn’t always convenient…so this is a venue for Titus 2.
Who are the young women that inspired the project?
Well, they aren’t my daughters. I don’t have any of those. My house is heavy on testosterone with my husband, three boys and a boy dog. I’m pretty sure the fish are boys too. I like being the only girl, but it is fun to hang out with other people’s girls once in a while.
· The first was my friend’s daughter, Shelby. She came along before any of my boys and used to stand on a chair to help decorate pumpkin sugar cookies every year. She’s all grown up and gorgeous now.
· My niece Eliana is five and doesn’t live close, but I love her to pieces. When she’s around she feels she must be in the kitchen if anything is going on, especially if it involves the food processor.
· Taylor and Madi, my cousin’s girls, started hanging out with us when we moved to Washington for a few years and they like to be in the kitchen too. They always have ideas for treats.
· At West Point, we had a bunch of amazing cadet girls in our OCF group that were really into cookies. They made dozens in our tiny kitchen and I baked for them every Tuesday. Now, they are all Captains in the Army or happy civilians after having served honorably, but many of them stay in touch.
· Now we have about twenty or so WSU students in our home for Bible study every Tuesday night and I make them dinner - feeding the poor and hungry! The girls in this group are the ones who really got the blog idea rolling. Several of them have asked about learning to cook and it all came together one night when one of them volunteered to make us a Chinese home-style feast. I got out the camera to keep up because I couldn’t take notes fast enough.
Shazam!
Now that I’ve started…
I’m having fun with this. The food in my house will probably be better for it and my friends and family are turning out to be just as much of an inspiration as the young ladies in my life. As I think through the food that I want to share it has occurred to me how many people memories are tied up with everything I make. With each dish there are stories to be told. Thankfully – or maybe not – My mother-in-law and sister-in-law have always applauded my corny writing style so the courage to write like my own goofy self in cyberspace is a nod to them.
