Being surrounded by great cooks and delicious and amazing food on every occasion or gathering, with family or friends, I loved the process of cooking and seeing everyone satisfied.
While growing, our maternal grandmother, Helene, made sure we know how to prepare the food she was making, by letting us join her and showing us the right way of preparing the food and how to respect the ingredients, she had a special dish for me, every time she knew I was visiting her, she made sure she had my favorite dishes ready: "sarma", which is a rice/meat mixture stuffed in grape vine leaves and my other favorite food she made was the fried "keufteh", which is made of beef tartare with bulgur, filled with a mixture of ground beef, spices and my favorite part, pine nuts. She adjusted her recipe with this special mixture just for us, her grandchildren, 8 of us at that time, now we are 10, and she has 11 great grand children).