I’ve really been blessed! I was fortunate enough to have a close-knit family that lived in the area. This made it easy to bond through impromptu cooking lessons. The majority of my country cooking lessons took place when I was visiting Grandmama or an aunt. We were family so even if I just popped in unannounced, I could count on pitching in to help with whatever was going on.

Whether they were cooking in the kitchen (my favorite) or picking something from the garden, you tagged along and participated in what they were doing. Now that was team work! There was none of this “stop and entertain the visitors”. Heck, no! If you wanted to visit, you’d have to follow them around while they did their chores. When they were finished, THEN you may be able to sit down and have an uninterrupted chat but not until.

Although I was very young when I started helping in the kitchen on these visits, I did notice that my mom got just as many cooking lessons and tips as I did. When our family cooked together, it didn’t matter who you were or how old you were, you got reminders about how to cook the recipe of the moment. Even Daddy, who was usually sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee, got to throw in his two cents worth. The result was that the whole family, adults and kids, got a country cooking lesson.

As I grew into an adult, these cooking lessons became more and more meaningful to me. Through my teen years, the cooking sessions provided me with great recipes and cooking “practice” but they also gave me the opportunity to talk out any problems or rough patches I experienced. When I was an adult, it was the perfect time to catch up on the goings-on with the rest of the family and get advice about my own kids.

What a great family activity those lessons were! Unfortunately, in today’s world everyone doesn’t get to experience the same family bonding or receive the super cooking lessons and recipes that many of us did. That’s why I want to remind you that even if you didn’t get cooking lessons as a child, you CAN provide those experiences for your own children, grandchildren, and even their friends. As you can see from my example, they aren’t just cooking lessons and recipes! Country cooking lessons are all about good food, fond memories, life lessons, and family bonding!

Do you need a country cooking refresher course? Check out our step-by-step, illustrated cooking lessons for adults! These are especially useful if you are a visual learner and need to see examples, like I do.

If you plan on using the country cooking lessons with your children or grandchildren, you can incorporate educational and fun activities with country cooking lessons for kids. These step-by-step, illustrated cooking lessons, also include subject related activities, will help you teach and reinforce educational concepts! Great for homeschooling or unschooling parents, grandparents, school teachers, or anyone who works with kids.

Did you receive cooking lessons from a family member or family friend? What was it like for you? What did you learn?