Elgin resident's food best served with family.(Food)(Cook of the week)

Byline: Laura Bianchi Seventy-five-year-old Joan Koehler staunchly refuses to submit to fast-food society. She has been cooking from scratch all her life; she doesn't intend to stop now. Every couple of weeks, the Elgin woman, a retired bookkeeper, invites her family over for dinner or just desserts.

The family includes about 18 people, including seven grandkids and a couple of great-grandchildren. "I just love having everyone around," she says. For birthdays, she makes the honored guest's favorite meal and a special cake, like the train she decorated for her ...

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