My Story
My story
Our family, the Joyaux’s and Allen’s had a tremendous love for food. Recipes were born, written on the backs of envelopes or the cardboard off of a cereal box. My grandfather, Micheal D. Allen was a chef in the Army in WWI, cooking for the troops before they all were sent off to serve their county.
(picture: My Grandfather, Michael D. Allen is the Chef on the right)
He returned home after the war and after getting treatment for mustard poisoning, he made his career and worked as a chef, and the head chef in many of the largest country clubs in the Chicagoland area and Indiana. My mother learned to cook from him after she married my father, John Allen.
I was blessed to receive my grandmothers’ (Marie Kempf Joyaux) 1950 Chamber Stove. I absolutely love knowing she cooked some of the same recipes I now cook on it. Her stuffed cabbage could be smelled miles down the road as Marie cooked it in the well of that stove.
All the recipes of the family have been saved and handed down. Original and just the way they were cooked from the early 1900s to today as our family cherishes each ingredient and the way our grandparents and great-grandparents served them up. With all these recipes and that old Chambers stove, the KarenKave was born.
As our grandparents and parents passed away, it became even more important to bring all the goodness they raised us up on. I cherish the vintage love in each of these recipes and how they were cooked and wanted to now share that with others who love old recipes, traditions and the simple things in life. Faith, Family and Food.
As part of the KarenKave, I have recently taken a portion of these wonderful recipes and published a cookbook, Generations of Recipes, so you can share in making some of the best home cooking in your kitchen. I hope you will enjoy the recipes and share the same love we shared serving them in the past and today.
Remember to support your local farmer for fresh organic and your local businesses that serve us well.
Learn more about my love for cooking and family tradition in the news and on my social pages
Published: Our State Magazine (North Carolina Publication)
https://www.ourstate.com/the-secret-of-the-sauce/
Local area network: WRAL TAR HEEL TRAVELER