From My Mama's Kitchen: Food for the Soul, Recipes for Living

by Johnny Tan

From My Mama’s Kitchen – “food for the soul, recipes for living” is a wonderful keepsake book about motherly love. It is a tribute to acknowledge and honor moms all over the world for their spiritual and inspirational contribution in making a positive difference in the lives of their children and their loved ones. Adopted at birth in Malaysia, and later moving to the United States to attend college, Johnny Tan’s life journey led him into crossing paths with various women he admiringly referred to as “Mom.” It is from his 9 moms’ insightful parenting skills and motivational words of wisdom that guided Johnny in decoding the many mysteries and challenges of everyday living. This served as the wonderful backdrop for everyone to reflect back and rekindle their own memories with their moms – during the various heartfelt moments that might have otherwise been forgotten. Entertaining, inspiring, and educational, Johnny has managed to bring “motherly love” to center stage, honoring the various significant roles mothers play in our daily lives – the forgotten heroes of our time!

Genres: Cookbooks, Nonfiction, Food, Cooking

Kindle Edition

First published January 19, 2009

About the author

I will always live my life with a Universal Balance, with a smile on my face and a twinkle in my eye, peaceful and confident, always living to learn, to love, and to leave a legacy.

In a nutshell: I have been very fortunate over the years to have the opportunity to cross paths with several wonderful women whom I am proud to call mom. They have helped me at various points in my life to decode the many mysteries and challenges of everyday living. Their unconditional love and support have helped me to continue to succeed in all areas of my life.

From a humorous perspective, I have always viewed life as a giant buffet line that offers me the opportunity to choose what I like. With the exception of eating vegetables, I would always try something new once. If I like its flavor and taste, I will always go back for seconds.

I welcome and look forward to receiving all constructive comments.

Thank you again for visiting my page.

Have a wonderful day.

Johnny Tan
“From My Mama’s Kitchen”
*Food for the Soul—Recipes for the Living*
www.frommymamaskitchen.com
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Reviews

[Johnny Tan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Kitchen is used as a backdrop because all of Johnny Tan’s nine moms grew up in the era where “The Kitchen” is their domain, a one-of-a-kind classroom where they become aware of both the challenges and rewards of life, and where they discover themselves – their strengths, weaknesses, creativity, and private sanctuary.

Like in past generations, the Kitchen is still today’s “heart and soul” of every home. It is a place where our meals are prepped, cooked and served, and to some of us it will continue to be a classroom for learning some of life’s most insightful and thought-provoking lessons.

Johnny’s intention of wanting to write a cookbook to preserve his mom’s recipes for his sister and himself took him on an amazing journey of discovering the essence of unconditional motherly love. This discovery became the new mission in his writing as he now focuses on the relationships he have with his adopted mom in Malaysia and with eight other women whom he have known over the years living in the United States who he refers to as moms.

[Jesse Kimmel-Freeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a quick read. If you're expecting a long one, you obviously didn't look at the page count when you got it. It is a book that touches with the concept of motherly love and centrals around recipes for life. It's nice how Johnny includes some recipes in the back of the book and leaves a few pages to include your own input.

I think that Johnny touches an important element in this book- the love that mothers have for their children. I know that it doesn't apply to every single mother out there, nothing is an absolute in life- but it is a nice book that is heart felt and warming.

I like how he's honoring his mom. It's a touching quick read.

I'd recommend for those that enjoy feel good, biographical, and lesson learning pieces. Oh, and those that like recipes too. :)

[Maria Miaoulis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a heart-warming, feel-good read that offers simple, though wise advice for living a fulfilling life. A good reminder of how short, but precious life is.

[Priscilla Villareal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspiring!!!

[Stephanie Soetendal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly thoughtful, inspiring, and a wisdom packed book for whomever is looking to step out of their comfort zone and ascend into a life of compassion, empathy, and success. Very well written!

[J · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author should've stuck to his original premise for this book: a cookbook of recipes from all of his "moms", with their wisdom thrown in. Instead, he wrote a book that sounded like a cross between Chicken Soup For the Soul & The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. It was like reading a very long college commencement address. And oh yeah, in the last chapter he remembered to include one recipe from each of his nine "moms". For someone like me who likes reading cookbooks as a genre--BO.RING.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a wonderful little read. Johnny Tan touches on one very important factor, the Love a mother has for their children.

At first I thought it was going to be a cookbook. Due to the name, however I quickly realized that it was a book full of stories about motherly love. As the mother of 3 daughters and 2 step-sons. I not only have the unique love of a biological mother but also a mother who chose to be one. There were so many inspirational stories in this book, and it truly reminded me of when I was growing up. I had quite a few "moms" when I was a kid, and now that the shoe is on the other foot, and I'm a mom, I likewise have quite a few "kids" who are not my own flesh and blood.

This book does have a few recipes all of which are oh so yummy. This book is PERFECT for Mother's Day. It is inspiring and light-hearted and the back of the book has spots to put your own thoughts. It's a short read but well worth it!

Details/Disclaimer: Review copy was provided to me in exchange for a fair and honest review. The free book held no determination on my personal review.

[Velvet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to get this book as a free Kindle download right before Mother's Day, and recently took the time to read it in one sitting. Mr. Tan's writing style is very easy to read and keeps you engaged with wonderful stories about the 9 "mothers" that have helped him in his life. Though originally started as an idea for a cookbook (and there are a few recipes from his mothers at the end), most of the book is about the life lessons, sometimes illustrated as cooking metaphors, these women imparted to him.

I very much enjoyed this read, and, especially since it is a short volume, it was well worth the time. Regardless of whether you are a cook or merely someone who can appreciate the shared life lessons from our elders, these nuggets of wisdom may well resonate with you for days after you finish.

[Karla · Rating 2 out of 5]

I very much wanted to love this book. I saw in its description something I had wanted to capture a few years ago in a study I did in college. I thought the book sounded like it had done what I had envisioned. I appreciate the insights but was disappointed to not see any recipes until the end and no anecdotes to accompany the individual recipes. Why was that particular recipe the favorite from that specific mom? What memories are tied to it?

[Beth Stevens · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing earth-shatteringly new, but good advice and compactly gathered and well organized.

[Alice · Rating 2 out of 5]

so, so.

[Alison]

kindle 153 (misc)