Although she didn’t develop an interest in cooking until after she had graduated from college, Dr. Linda Wilson has become a master of her own kitchen.

“My mother did all the cooking when I was growing up in Salem, Virginia. I had never cooked an egg until I left home,” Linda said. “She never allowed the four of us (two sisters and a brother) to cook. And those were the days when everything was cooked in a pressure cooker. My mother gave us one for a wedding present, but I never have used it except for melting wax.”

After college, Linda had a friend who “was such a fabulous cook. Every time I went to her home to dine I always brought back her recipes. Margaret introduced me to good cooking and I learned from her that I wanted to know how to cook.”

To start, Linda bought a Julia Child’s cookbook, “but after reading a few pages, I thought I can never do this.” Loving to learn, she persevered while teaching English and history...