All About Me
Hi! My name is Kim Hansen!
Yaya’s cookbook is my little place on the web to share family recipes, and around here and to all the grandkids, I’m just Yaya – a Southern girl with a passion for cooking, family, and keeping old traditions alive.
Born and raised between Charlotte, NC, and Garden City, SC, I’ve spent my life surrounded by good food and strong family ties, with just the right amount of “bless your heart” mixed in to set the mood.
Cooking has always been at the heart of my family, and now I’m bringing those beloved recipes to life here on Yaya’s Cookbook. My mom, Shirley, has been my greatest inspiration, sharing over 70 years of her cooking wisdom with me. I’m the youngest of five and the proud mama of four kids (three girls and a boy), three step-sons, and five grandbabies who always keep me on my toes- especially around the kitchen!
The Start of Yaya's Cookbook
In 2009, my mother Shirley decided to gift everyone in the family, a copy of the recipes that she created or modified throughout her life. Some are hers alone, others are a mashup of her mothers recipes, with changes and additions she saw fit to make.
She spent long hours going through all of her handwritten recipes, recipe cards, scribbled pieces of paper tucked into old cookbooks and typed up every one of them. Printing and assembling a copy of the cookbook for every member of the family!
This cookbook is an amazing labor of love from my mama. Hope you can all share this journey with me.
Where it All Began - The Box!
In 2022, I was at moms house helping her sort through various cabinets and storage areas and stumbled upon this box. This is the recipe box that was always in our kitchen growing up.
This box was created by my mother in home economics class in middle school – roughly 1950. It contains wonderful old recipes and also measurements and substitutions for just about every ingredient. These guides are something you don’t see in modern day cookbooks and show the care that went into each and every recipe. As you can see, she received an A+ on her project and we think it is definitely well deserved!
Follow us as we comb through the recipe box and discover all of her hidden gems.
