I learned my way around a kitchen at a very young age. My mother often assigned me small tasks to help her, such as shelling peas, picking fresh curry leaves from the garden, kneading dough for rotis, or decorating place settings for special occasions. I now realize the little jobs that made me feel important and useful as a child helped me build a rich library of food memories to reference in later years. The library has stacks of recipes, kitchen stories, food history and memories authored by mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, and other women who congregated in kitchens over decades and created meals while swapping secrets, anxieties and joys.

Recently, my own daughters have grown up and moved out of the family nest. As they create their own kitchen stories, they often reach out to me for recipes and tips. That was when the idea for this blog took root. I wanted them to learn not only about the ingredients or techniques but also the emotions and events behind the dishes.

Food stories can be happy, filled with secrets, camaraderie and laughter or sometimes they are about displacement, anger, tears, adjustments and compromises. I invite you to browse our family food blog and hope that it is useful for many other children who are making their way through the world and creating their own masterpieces in the kitchen.

This blog would not have been possible without the support and gentle guidance of Manali Matkar, who volunteered her time and expertise.