Simsbury Woman Publishes Family-Friendly Cookbook

Michelle Day would like to see more families cooking and eating together. And she has published a cookbook — “Cooking Together, Making Memories and Meals” — to help people do just that.

Day, who grew up in West Hartford, spent time in New York City and now lives in Simsbury, has always had a hand in the cooking business. She had her own catering business in New York called The Catering Divas, and has been a cake designer. Her day job in Canton is also cooking related, giving cooking demonstrations on a regular basis.

But it was after meeting business partner Eric Bleimeister and his daughter, Elisabeth, that her interest started taking on a new direction. First, in 2008, was the website, www.kidsandacook.com and now the book.

“It’s a constant work in progress,” she said of the web site.

She would eventually love to produce a cooking show focused on children.

She grew up with mealtime being an important time in her family. And she was around all sorts of food. (Her family owned the Whole Donut up by Antonio’s for many years. Her parents also live in Simsbury.)

“Cooking was a big deal in my family,” she said one afternoon when discussing her new cookbook. “I was always, always in the kitchen with my mom.”

Her mother grew up in Sacramento, CA, where her mother was a well-known chef — working in the governor’s kitchen.

“It was kind of in the blood,” said Day.

Her grandmother was an innate cook and her mother become a cook after learning from cookbooks primarily, said Day.

“She’s a really good cook,” Day said of her mother.

Some of what Day recalls about growing up are the many conversations that the family had while in the kitchen. It was a way to get to life lessons without the burden of ‘having a talk.’ In the kitchen it came out naturally.

Today, Day said, families — children, parents — are all too busy and overscheduled. Day’s plan to get people back in the kitchen and at the table together starts off small — one night a week. She said even if a family burns the whole thing and it’s inedible, so what. Go to McDonald's and try again the next week.

“Don’t put the pressure that it’s got to be perfect,” said Day.

The idea is to slow down and be together. Then build upon each kitchen lesson from week to week — start venturing to farmers’ markets for example. Day said education, being together, being healthy and connecting can all come from cooking and eating together one meal at a time.

Her business partner’s daughter, now 10, has been a good model for Day. Elisabeth’s food choices have broadened since the two began cooking together and Elisabeth takes ownership of and loves to be part of cooking process. In fact, one recipe in the cookbook is Elisabeth’s: the “Heirloom Tomato and Herb Salad.”

“They really are very intuitive,” Day said of children.

She said in her cooking demonstrations she find they know what’s good instinctively. Day said there are other ways to get whole families involved in cooking as well, such as making a game of it. In the grocery store, for example, ask the kids to find something red and then use that in a recipe. Day also suggests making the kitchen a personal technology-free zone as much as possible.

Besides covering the basics in instructions and information, and offering a slew of recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner that sound delicious and fun (Super-Hero Muffins anyone?), after each recipe is a blank page that reads "Family Notes."

You can put anything and everything there — comments, pictures, additions, changes, opinions or memories. In that way Day said she hopes the book becomes a keepsake as well as a cooking tool. She said the fact that this book can be turned into a family heirloom makes it special.

“I read cookbooks like they are novels,” said Day, who at one point amassed about 500 cookbooks, but is now down to about 300.

Recipes like the Inside Outside Sandwich, Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins, Apple Orchard French Toast or Cheese Filled Meatball Sandwich ought to get any chef — big or little — in the kitchen, and hopefully together.

The paperback cookbook, which has been out about a month, is available on the www.kidsandacook.com web site, as well as the barnesandnoble.com and amazon.com websites. The 260-page book, which retails for about $20, is published by iUniverse Inc.