Brightening a Bleak Culinary Landscape: Interview with Robin

Name, location, family, website

Robin, Central Israel, work-at-home mom of 2

Personal blog: http://aroundtheisland.blogspot.com/

Photography blog: http://aroundtheislandphotography.com/

What do you remember about family meals when you were growing up? What was your mother’s cooking style?

We always ate dinner as a family. Meals were very “American” – a meat, a vegetable or two, usually half a grapefruit or a slice of melon as an appetizer. The style for weekday meals was casual, with an emphasis on quick and easy. More elaborate meals were saved for weekends or company (but only tried and true – my mother never tried a new dish when company was coming. Still doesn’t for that matter.)

How is your cooking style different from your mother’s? We tend to favor much more ethnic cooking – Thai food is my “what to cook when there’s nothing to cook” staple, but I’m just as likely to throw together enchiladas or a vegetarian curry or a sauce for my husband’s homemade pasta. I tend to favor a lot of “Moosewood” style dishes and one-bowl with everything in it meals while my husband is all about dough – he bakes all our bread, keeps us well stocked with homemade pasta, anything as long as it involves dough. It’s a hobby and a stress reliever for him.