Summers With Julia Child

By Lindsey Johnson, Cafe Johnsonia

When other kids were out playing during summer vacation, I was inside, glued to my television watching cooking shows on PBS. One of my very favorites was Baking With Julia.

I didn't really know who Julia Child was. I didn't know that she was this larger-than-life icon and powerhouse. I didn't know anything except that I adored her. She was simply marvelous in every way.

I can't really explain my admiration for Julia except to say that I felt a real kinship with her. I was a little girl and she was an adult woman--a strong, influential woman at that. But I loved her. I wanted to be in that kitchen baking with her.

She treated her guests like they were the experts and she their student. She played the role like we viewers who were trying to glean a little expertise of our own by watching. I had never seen such beautiful cakes with dark chocolate ruffles and cream filling. I know Julia had, but she seemed just as delighted as I was to watch it magically come together. I didnt know what a sponge cake was, but there I was learning the proper way to make one. Artisan bread? The only bread we had at home came in a bag from the grocery store shelf.

Im an adult now and have turned my little cooking hobby into my livelihood. When I have a question about the proper way to cook something, of course, I first turn to Julia and her books on my shelf. I crack them open and I can almost hear her telling me exactly what I need to knowwhich sometimes only amounts to a adding little more butter or cream.

Lindsey Johnson is a blogger, freelance writer and photographer based in Utah. Her husband and three children are all very happy to sample any and every success and failure from her kitchen.

You can find Lindsey at her website Cafe Johnsonia, as well as on Facebook and Twitter.