My Genealogy of Cooking

This is my great-grandfather Walter Dero Stewart, Sr, his mother Mary Norah Reeves Stewart, my Aunt Thelma "Lasses" Lee, and my mother Sabra Stewart-Johnson. Walter aka Poppa is where I spent many meals eating whatever he ate. Ironically, he didn't cook but it was his kitchen I ate in. Mary Norah aka Big Momma owned her own restaurant in East Nashville (pictured). Even though Mary was blind, she still ran her business on a daily basis. I'm told my abilities has traveled down the DNA strand to keep "Big Momma's" legacy alive. Aunt Lasses is where my love of hot-water cornbread comes from...no matter the time of the day, when she knew we were coming to visit, there was always hot food waiting for us in the oven; not to mention her "scratch" biscuits and Chess Pie! My beautiful mother Sabra Stewart-Johnson who allowed her kitchen to be my 1st "test" kitchen. Many failures occurred in that test kitchen. Pound & Carrot Cakes, Lemon Bars, Southern Fried Chicken, Fried Corn & Potatoes all from this kitchen... I'm thankful for my great-grandfather always making sure I ate at his table... I'm grateful for the culinary passion of the women in my family...my great-great grandmother, great-aunt (her grand-daughter), and my mother who have all inspired me to be as I am...