Kate Gosselin's Love Is in the Mix (22 page)

I suspect that many moms are met with choruses of groans when they announce “leftovers for dinner,” but not THIS mom. Not since a few years ago when I invented my restaurant approach to serving leftovers. I typically cook on Sunday nights through Wednesday nights. Keeping in mind that I plan to “take a night off” and serve a variety of leftovers on Thursday night, I cook a bit more than I think we will eat each night. When Thursday rolls around, I write up (or type up) a quick “menu,” listing by food group–category each food that is available. Next to the main item and the vegetable, I put “must choose at least one.” Next to the listed side dishes, I put “choose as many or as few as you want.” I always make sure to include a dessert category and offer at least two choices there as well! I’m also sure to include boxes to be checked next to each option and a blank for each child to write their name on—it helps me prepare their plate and ensures that I serve it to the correct child without confusion. This creative spin on leftover night has turned my kids’ groans into a very much anticipated and enjoyed dinner event! Try it. I bet your kids will like it, too!

“Thank you, Jesus, for a warm meal on our table and a dry roof over our heads.”

This prayer was inspired by my grandpa who, when times became tough, always focused and praised God for what he had. He passed that onto me and anyone around him. I began praying this prayer with Mady and Cara when it came back to me during our very difficult first year with eight children. I wanted Mady and Cara to be grateful for our most basic provisions because, at that time, we were so thankful for the constant blessings from friends and strangers that helped us get by daily. And we were also doing our best to provide for—and trust God for—our future provisions as a very large family.

I
have written a few books,
but never a cookbook. I’ve always dreamed of compiling my recipes into one place (other than in my head and occasionally scrawled illegibly on a scrap of paper) for my children to have, to use, and to possibly even cherish as a family recipe legacy. I wasn’t sure I believed in myself enough to write a cookbook. After all, I’m not a trained chef; I’m just a mom who truly enjoys cooking and creating fresh, healthy foods that are immensely enjoyed by my family and friends … even if that means taking chances for the sake of learning how flavors and ingredients are best combined. Once I finally decided to write this book, I certainly had no idea how much work was involved until I began the process of writing down my recipes, testing and retesting them, and then taking photos of many of the completed dishes.

I didn’t do this alone and I owe huge helpings of thanks to so many people for their constant insistence that I write this book, their encouragement when I became overwhelmed with the details, and especially for their tireless help all along the way.

To Grandma, even though you now live in Heaven, thank you for lovingly helping me discover, from a very young age, how much I love to cook. The kitchen enthusiasm that you sparked in me way back then was the beginning of a passion, a hobby, and a marvelous way to show love to my family and friends, much the same way you did for me when I was young. Thank you for unknowingly passing on your love of cooking to me.

Nana Janet, I imagine you’re probably in Heaven cooking with Grandma right now. Thank you for all the “cooking lessons” over the years and the laughs that went along with them. You gave me truly unforgettable memories that I’ll cherish for a lifetime.

To my children, thank you for asking me to write this book and for your enthusiastic participation. And, of course, thank you for your willingness to be my “accidental food testers” each night when you come to the dinner table.

To Mady, thank you for your amazing and beautiful photographs that you took for this book! You may feel honored to have your work published for the first time, but be assured that I am also honored and so very proud to have you—such a talented photographer in our family!

To Cara, thank you for going through the book and catching grammar and sentence structure issues. Your careful attention to detail while you pored over each page reminded me of an English teacher correcting my writing project. I sure hope you give me an “A”. In the end, you saved me so much precious time … time that I could spend in the kitchen. Where else, right?

Thank you, thank you, thank you, and so much appreciation goes to Health Communications, Inc. for seeing my vision for this book, supporting it, and making it come to life in brilliant detail.

Specifically, thanks goes to Allison Janse, who has beautiful editing skills which include: persistence, patience, and perfection. To Larissa Henoch, your hard work and valuable expertise added to this long detailed project is in large part why the finished product is as beautiful as it is! And to Kim Weiss, who shared my excitement for this project and worked hard to make sure no details were missed when coordinating this book announcement, media interviews, and book signings.

To Susan: What can I say to adequately describe my immense gratitude to you? Your vision for this book never wavered. You believed in me even when I doubted me. You urged me on when I became frustrated. You filled so many roles and job descriptions that I couldn’t possibly list them all here. None have gone unnoticed and all are so very appreciated. And look: Our “kitchen baby” is finally born! What a gestational period it has been, huh?

To all of our loving and supportive family friends, including, but not limited to—Deanna, Jamie, Alli, and “Miss Jen”—do you know I couldn’t have made this book happen without you? Thank you for your belief in me and this dream of mine, your cooking and photographing assistance, and even help with my kids when I had deadlines to meet. Most of all, I thank each of you for your patience with me during that timeframe when all I seemed to do was eat, sleep, think, and talk C
OOKBOOK
. The love, friendship, and help you've given to me and my children is truly immeasurable.

To “Uncle Steve,” the original pizza guru, although you always managed to mix up your pizza dough without a recipe and whenever I had my back turned so I couldn’t catch a glimpse of the magic, it was you who made me believe I could master the skill, too. Like you always say, “It’s not rocket science; it’s just flour and water, right?” Thanks for giving me the courage to try, which after much practice, has led to the start of our family pizza tradition, similar to the one you started in your family. Now look what you made me do!

To Vincent for the magnificently arranged flowers shown in various photos on the cover and throughout the book. They exceeded beautiful for sure. If only everyday life looked that beautiful in my kitchen!

Thanks to Lori for your help taming the kids’ hair on cover photo day. Thanks for lending your skilled hands and your time to do theirs, freeing me up to do my own.

And to Angela, you were very missed during this one, but thanks for your friendship and valuable guidance you offered from afar.

And, to all of my diehard supporters and fans who have asked relentlessly for this book for years. While I’ve never had the privilege of meeting most of you in “real life,” I have the utmost appreciation for each of you and am honored to call you my “friends.”

And to each person who opens this book and cooks even just one recipe from it. I can already tell you that I feel honored to have my book resting on your counter top.

May the time you spend in your kitchen recreating our family recipes be as therapeutic and fulfilling for you as it is for me! (Yes, it’s therapeutic for me—despite the accompanying noise and commotion of my eight in our kitchen.)