Sipping on a pistachio milkshake in Newport, Rhode Island … one of my mandatory favorite things to do when I visit home, second to ordering clam chowder.
Here’s my Story
As a comfort food home cook in Astoria, New York, I traced my ancestry and discovered that I descend from a handful of cooks on both sides of my family dating as far back as 1831. Just a coincidence? I think not.
Me making cranberry bread at home in Richmond, Rhode Island. Circa 1985.
The Early Years
So … I’ll start by explaining that I was adopted, then found my biological family in my early 20s. I had no idea that cooking was literally in my blood, and didn’t find that out until I did extensive genealogy research more recently. It was such a pleasant surprise!
My desire for food started with lots of holiday baking as a child in Richmond, Rhode Island. Naturally, I gravitated to food jobs during college in Minneapolis, finding work as a dining hall prep cook, a cheesemonger in a gourmet deli, and a coffeeshop barista. I was known for making some really awesome chocolate chip cookies. My friends endured 9 years of my tedious trial-and-error gourmet meals.
Moving to Astoria
Upon arriving in Astoria in 2004, I parted ways with trying to make gourmet food and became more interested in “American” comfort food. Also, I was motivated by the wide variety of international ingredients that were new to me and so easily available in my local markets. More tedious trial-and-error kitchen adventures took place as I learned from a wide variety of sources. Watching TV, I learned about Puerto Rican cuisine from watching chef Daisy Martinez and Italian cuisine from chef Lydia Bastianich on PBS. On YouTube, I learned from watching America’s Test Kitchen and various home cooks. And meticulously reading Cooks Illustrated magazine on my commute to work was an everyday ritual.
Nowadays, my experience as a home cook is highly influenced from Puerto Rican, Mexican, and Jamaican cuisines, while exploring Neo Soul food concepts. Around 2007, I indulged in pasta making for a complete summer but don’t make it too often because I really needed to cut back on eating carbs. And speaking of health … I try to only eat meat once a day, or sometimes not at all. so I also offer vegetarian and vegan recipes and ideas.
Currently I’m a volunteer recipe tester for America’s Test Kitchen and learning primarily through their online cooking school.
My Culinary Timeline
Sometimes, pictures speak louder than words. Scroll below to see a visual time lime of my culinary story.
2013
Volunteering to make sandwiches at Congregation Beth Elohim in Brooklyn, circa 2013.
2002
Cooking with my birth father. As he recalls frequently digging for clams off the shores of Rhode Island, he’s showing me how he makes Rhode Island clam chowder during a visit to Minneapolis, circa 2002.
1999
1997
Home from college and cooking for my family in the summer of 1997.
1985
My parents exposing me to “real” food during a trip to San Francisco’s Chinatown, circa 1986.
This was my mom showing me REAL Chinese food for the first time.
Me as a home cook with some holiday baking in Davis, California.
1984
My dad and I getting ready for the annual sunflower growing contest at the Washington County Fair in Richmond, Rhode Island, circa 1984.
My first involvement in publishing a recipe was my mom getting me involved in her Girl Scout troops’ cookbook project, circa 1984. I still love chocolate-chip-anything to this day!
1978
1963
My biological grandfather, Amos Robinson featured in the local paper in North Kingstown, Rhode Island in 1963.
1959
My mom’s 1959 Fannie Farmer cookbook from my childhood kitchen provides endless fond memories and culinary inspiration.
1917
My biological great grandfather, Antonio Salvatore, was a cook at Thorndike Hotel in Boston, Massachusetts shortly after immigrating from Patti, Sicily. Circa 1917.
1865
My 4th great grandmother, Rosanna (Brinley) Watson – the daughter of a freed slave – was a cook in Newport, Rhode Island in 1865.
1831
An inventory from the home of a free Black ancestor – my biological 4th great grandfather, Prince Robinson – revealing the contents of his kitchen in South Kingstown, Rhode Island in November of 1831.
