Cooking Demo at Barton Healthcare

Yesterday, I went to Barton Healthcare in Zion, Illinois. I made a triple berry crisp prepared 3 different ways for entertaining! After I prepare the demo, my ghost writer, Molly, publicist, Annie, and I are going to be sitting and talking with each of the residents to get their favorite memory/story and recipe from their lost loved ones. We each heard some beautiful and incredible stories. We met one woman who was 100 years old and her parents were Polish Royalty. Another woman, who was 92 years old, used to pick mangos off of her mango tree in Cuba and bring them in the house for her mother to make fresh desserts with. Then there was a woman, who lived through the depression, whose family owned goats and the kids would milk the goats for the mother to make homemade ice-cream. And finally, we met a woman who grew up on a farm and her mother would make homemade pasta by laying sheets of pasta on the backs of chairs to let the pasta dry out.

All of the stories were filled with so much detail and history. Getting these stories made me so proud of what I am doing. If we don't write these stories and recipes down, the will inevitably, be forgotten when our loved ones pass away. Also, I have really believe that food tastes so much different when there is history behind it. For example, when I make my mother's spaghetti bolognese, it reminds me of her and the times that we shared together. I can visually see her making the sauce and working hard to make the pasta delicious. That always made it taste amazing because it was made with love. I remember grocery shopping, sitting in the kitchen and talking while cooking, setting the table, and having dinner with the whole family. When you go to a restaurant and order spaghetti bolognese, it usually tastes delicious too but you don't know the history of the food and how the recipe came about. These stories have changed the way that I view food.

I would like to say a special thanks to Molly, Annie and Sarah from Zapwater and the whole community at Barton Senior Residences of Zion. Barton offers individuals 65+ an affordable assisted living option that promotes a lifestyle of active independence. With unsurpassed services and amenities including private apartments, restaurant-style dining for three meals a day and full activity program to engage each resident and their individual interests, Barton Senior Residences of Zion provides seniors with a comfortable and secure place to call home. Barton Senior Residences of Zion is located at 3500 Sheridan Road in Zion, Illinois.

Pictures:

Ingredients for Topping

Mixed Berries

Pretty ways to serve at a summer BBQ


Residents at Barton who attended the demo