When I was eight, I learned how to cook simple dishes such as tuna mac, wash laundry (I learned by reading the box of powdered laundry soap and reading the directions on the inside lid of the washing machine), and help Grandma with her oxygen therapy.

Later, when my cooking skills improved somewhat, I learned how to make hot cocoa the old fashion way (from scratch), and I created a new recipe: french-toasted peanut butter sandwiches.

Jeanette Isabelle