The Glorious 1970s
In the early 1970s I was enamored with Graham Kerr. For those that don’t know him, Graham Kerr is an internationally known culinary and television personality, award-winning author, and master of metaphorical speaking. His focus is on serving people who want to make healthy, creative, lifestyle changes and to increase their consumption of fresh, local edible plants and seafood. His life goal is “to help to convert habits that harm into resources that heal both for ourselves and others in need.” I watched his show religiously in the early 1970s. (The Galloping Gourmet – A 30-minute program; produced from 1969-1971; broadcast in the United States and 37 other countries.) He would drink a glass of wine while cooking, so of course, I would do the same while producing one of his masterpieces. I will never forget the time I made his Beef Bourguignon. It was so unbelievably good that I was inspired to test out even the most difficult of recipes. I was also enthralled by Julia Childs French cooking and I was the proud possessor of all the first editions of her books as well as Grahams. I had a collection of cookbooks to die for and I still have them to pass on, lucky me. I also watched the Julia Childs show whenever it was on and long before the movie most of you are familiar with, I was testing every one of her recipes. Of course, we didn’t have the internet to blog on, so I wrote all the recipes and my refinements on 3×5 file cards that I still have and treasure to this day. I do remember thinking how funny she sounded but how real she was with her approach to food and how easy she made it to make gourmet meals every day for my family and friends.
The 70s were a great time for me. I was married to a great man that made me feel like “The world’s greatest Cook, not to mention the world’s most beautiful women” and I was lucky enough to be able to stay at home and cultivate my interests, photography and cooking. I was also totally enamored with the Mommy role and threw myself into a very selfish fun loving life that my babies’ world afforded me. I never wanted anything more but this life. The 70s will always remain my most favorite time.
It was during this time that I was able to develop my skills as a homemaker and a great cook and will always be grateful to to all the opportunities I was afforded to pursue my dreams.