Glenda Cardwell of Coosa County has been cooking family meals since she was 12 or 13 years old. The skills she acquired came in handy later in life.

“My parents both worked, so my brother and I were supposed to have the house clean and dinner cooked when they got home,” she explains.

“At 12, I didn’t appreciate that I was cooking every day, but I appreciated that I knew how to cook when I got married. Ricky says he appreciated it, too,” adds Glenda, as she chuckles at her husband’s remark.

Married for 40 years, Glenda says Ricky sometimes starts or even completely cooks dinner when she gets home from her job at Rockford Town Hall. But she says she still cooks on a regular basis, like most people in her community.

“The drugstore and café close at 2 p.m. on weekdays, so you cook if you want to eat,” says Glenda.

Lifelong residents of Coosa County, the couple are both active in the Coosa County Farmers Federation. Glenda serves as chairman of the county Women’s Leadership Committee, and Ricky serves on the county Federation board of directors.

“We’ve been active in the Federation for about 15 years,” she said, adding that other members encouraged them to get involved.

The Cardwells have two children and four grandchildren, and Glenda recently traveled to Italy, where she spent two weeks with her daughter and son-in-law.

“My son-in-law is Italian, and he and my daughter live in Italy. It was beautiful to spend that time there with them,” she says.

“And Ricky didn’t starve while I was gone, so I guess he fended for himself just fine,” she joked.

When selecting recipes to share with the Country Kitchen, Glenda says she chose dishes that were repeatedly successful.

“I wanted to share things that I’d made more than once and that we all enjoyed,” she explains.