Marilyn Peight
I was born in a tiny Amish home without electricity. In fact I never lived in a home with electricity until I was 14, so all of our cooking was done with propane ovens.
My love for cooking came from my Mom who in turn learned from her Mom. I started helping in the kitchen when I was 5-6 and helped with Mom’s catering business when I was 8. In the Amish there is no such thing as too young to work so it was normal for us to help with chores like peeling potatoes, making stuffing and washing dishes after school.
When I was 11 my parents left the Amish community and started associating with Mennonite and Charity circles. My Mom kept her catering business for a few more years and held on to some aspects of her upbringing, especially the clean home and delicious food.
At 17 I had an opportunity to serve in the Middle East doing refugee relief work in the aftermath of ISIS. While living in less than ideal conditions we learned to create good food out of any of the basic and unique ingredients to be found in a war torn area.
Through traveling the next few years up until COVID 19 hit, I discovered a love for international cuisine beyond the basic potato and casserole type meals of my ex-Amish culture. Thankfully my husband also has a love for food and travel and can appreciate variety!
With my siblings in the barn my Amish grandfather fixed up for our Mother to run her catering business out of, which was called Sara’s Country Kitchen. Our clothes were messy because we were put to work in the kitchen, serving drinks, making food, doing dishes and more.
Playing dress up with my old Amish clothes a year or two after we had left the Amish community. I no longer parted my hair in the center and was allowed to wear a wrist watch, which I thought was the coolest thing ever!
Today I am happily married to a hard working man who also grew up in a conservative setting. We have two small children, whom the Lord has blessed us with, and enjoy gardening, landscaping, and blogging together. My biggest support and help as I develop recipes, photograph the food, chase after two toddlers and keep up with all the house work, is Jesus who gives me strength and courage for each new day!