Summer came and the winners to our seasonal recipe contest "Complement Your Barbecue" were chosen. We invite you this month to meet Melinda whose recipe Carolina's rocking red sauce was chosen as the second runner up. She also gifted us robusta Italian style compound butter with which is probably as delicious, only it arrived too late to enter the competition.

Melinda’s Story

Question: Tell us about your background: Where and when did you learn to cook?
Answer: I am an exceptionally blessed mother of three wonderful children and five fabulous grandchildren. I was born in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania in 1961 daughter of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania native Thomas and Zephyr Hills Florida native Dorothy. This is where I get being Yankee cook with southern charm.

I have five brothers and four sisters. I lived 33 years of my life in the north and 14 in the south. Growing up my mother often told me she just knew I would become a really good cook or a chef. I was always right in the middle of the kitchen when she was cooking asking a million questions. But, honestly; I know I was really getting on her last nerve, and dancing and I am sure it was a rock song and not the waltz. Seriously, some of my fondest memories of my mother were in her kitchen over food. The smells, sounds, much laughter and long hours of girl talk.

I first realized my life would revolve around food at about age 10. I was sitting at the kitchen table making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Not your ordinary PB&J, I was making pinwheels out of my sandwich. I had extra jelly to drizzle on the plate and of course powder sugar. My parents had friends over that day and everyone just cooed and awed over this pinwheel sandwich. That was the moment that sparked a fire of desire to cook and make everything we ate beautiful.

I went on to attend College but had to quit for a while due to my mother becoming ill and later passing away. However; I had several impressive jobs in food service. I was catering extravagant and not so extravagant parties. It really did not matter to me as long as I could cook I was happy.

This went on for about 12 years and then one day I woke up and could not move my arm, the pain was just terrible. It lasted about a week. A few more weeks passed and I went to roll over in bed Lord, I let out a God awful scream. I could not move, the pain was so bad I literally could not move or be touched. I was hospital bound in an ambulance. They really could not tell me much, they were baffled. The hospital sent me home with heavy pain meds and a referral to a Rheumatologist. This pain went on for 13 days, I thought I was about to die from pain. Something told me this was not going to be my last bout of horrendous pain. My appointment was in three weeks and after my diagnosis of Rheumatoid arthritis I thought it was simply an ach and a pain no worries I had survived so much in my life already this would be a snap. Well honey let me tell you, I was so very wrong. RA as it is often referred to is an auto immune system disease that effects your entire body, nasty stuff that RA.

The pain travels and what happens to the left happens to the right. So when my joints on the left deform so do the right side joints. The immune meaning that my immune system is attacking it’s self along with my entire body. My RA was, and still is, very aggressive. RA is a very debilitating and crippling disease and it is running havoc in my body. The pain was unbearable most days. I have now learned to deal with the pain and have taught myself yet more ways to accomplish my goals, I will not let this disease control my life I will control my disease. 

I was born with almost no use of my right arm, unable to lift it any higher than my waist. I made it through life just fine. I devised ways of doing things using other parts of my body. So now I had to fight this disease and find new ways of surviving without losing sight of my life or my dreams. My main goal was and always will be food!

I have several dreams. The first is to open my own restaurant and the second is to have a television show so I can teach thousands of handicap viewers how to cook, even if handicapped, and stay strong in their everyday lives. Not to fear the kitchen but use it as an outlet to live, be creative and thrive! As I said in the beginning I am truly blessed. I would not have it any other way. My less than perfect joints are working just perfectly for me. I am a woman on a mission to help as many people as I can.

Lastly but defiantly not least, my final dream was to write a cook book. My children and friends are always asking me for my recipes. I never really wrote anything down, making it hard to give anybody anything. So, here we are, I have spent 6 months making dish after dish and writing it down. Of course my twisted fingers are so twisted I had to type them no one could ever read my chicken scratch.

After I had some of them typed I checked out cookbook sites and recipe contests I decided this would complete one of my dreams. I would write a self published cookbook, which I have done. I called it Yankee cooking with Southern charm. I have begun to win recipe contests like yours. There is another dream completed.

I make up at the very least 3 to 4 recipes a week. Who knows what could come of this? At the very least my family will have all the wonderful recipes they grew up eating and loving.

As for myself, as long as there is breath in my body and the good Lord is willing, I will achieve all of my dreams.