Think back. What are your earliest memories of the kitchen? I can clearly remember ours but I think my emotional ties are to the kitchens of my grandmothers. My paternal grandma grew up in New York City, hence her excellent renditions of both matzo ball soup AND spaghetti and meatballs. Grandma's kitchen was just FUN! I recall her always wearing an apron and her fearless attitude about letting me "help". I remember my first experience preparing a "tossed salad". We added all the ingredients to the bowl and then Grandma told me to toss the salad, so I did. That is the hardest I ever saw her laugh. My maternal grandmother was Louise and that's what we all called her. Her kitchen produced a most amazing orange cake and a wonderful British Colonial style 4 o'clock tea. Drinking tea on the veranda was very grown up and I tried it with the works including sugar, condensed milk and even lemon (although to my surprise the lemon didn't get along too well with the milk). Step one on this journey to an intuitive kitchen is to think back and find the feeling. We can't go back but perhaps this is one of the flavors we'd like to incorporate. An area full of symbolism, the heart of the home is where we seek refuge after a hard day and solace in the wee hours of the morning.