Check out Dawn Lerman’s touching NYT series, Growing up with a Fat Dad, in which she chronicles a childhood spent with a mother who never cooked, and a father who ballooned to 450 lbs. as he worked his way through every fad diet known to man.  She talks about how their diet of processed, packaged food, and nothing home-cooked, left her feeling empty and hungry in all sorts of ways.

Though Lerman’s parents were not abusive–just utterly oblivious to their child’s basic needs—Lerman’s grandmother, Beauty, rescued her on weekends. When she’d walk into her grandmother’s kitchen on Friday nights, she’d touch nirvana as she glimpsed the beautifully-set dinner table and abundant fresh produce, and got a noseful of the scents of homemade soup and freshly-baked muffins. “My grandmother was my mentor and my savior. She poured love and stability into my life, one recipe at a time.”  When Lerman’s family moved away, Beauty sent her weekly shopping lists and money so she could cook for herself, along with recipes that “filled my body and soul.” [Read more…]