Welcome to Red’s Gingerbread Cookout! I’ve been wanting to start a food blog for years now to honour my late mother who was responsible for beginning my love for cooking at an early age. She would have turned 70 years old today and I thought finally starting this blog would be a fitting dedication to this special day.
Cooking together was one of many activities we got to share together. We were fortunate that my dad was able to support the family while my mom could be a homemaker. The rock and glue of the family who selflessly loved us all in ways I never understood until later.
Most days I would come home from school and join my mom in the kitchen after spending some quality time with our Golden Retrievers, Rudy, and later in life, Billy. I was fortunate to grow up playing many different sports and particpate in many different extra-cirricular activities so meal time was usually early on weekdays. There would be depending on the season, hockey, baseball, soccer, swimming, chess, and Beavers to Scouts on most nights between my brother and I. Even with the crunch of time before these activities, we were all so lucky to always eat (mostly; some junkfood in moderation!) nutritious and homecooked meals before heading off to the activity for that night. I’ll always cherish the time we spent together in the kitchen where I often was just mixing something on the stove and enjoying our time together talking about each other’s day and anything and everything coming up.
So mom, I’m sorry I didn’t plan this post better and it will probably be a fairly rough start to it…familiar late nighters writing essay drafts due the next day. I know this site will be a cathartic medium to dive into more family memories. I’m looking forward to going through the boxes of pictures stored away and sharing the love you instilled in all of us with these posts. I haven’t been writing much at all these days and I know this will be a healthy way of reconnecting with that love through another love of food.
With all my gratitude and love,
-Your Red (Derek)
January 26th, 2025
Red's Gingerbread Cookout 
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