Janina Kostiw had a love for cooking that was surpassed only by her family's desire to taste foods she'd cooked for them. That love has led Mrs. Kostiw's son and daughter-in-law, Carbondale residents [Tom Kostiw] and Marlen Kostiw, to bottle her secret ingredients and offer six flavors of spice blends they said greatly enhance the taste of meat, poultry, potato salad, eggs, pie and a host of other foods.

"Our good friend, Byrdy Snyder, hates lamb and we made some lamb, but seasoned it with Babunya's and, when she ate it, she was surprised. She said she didn't know it was lamb," Mr. Kostiw said. "Byrdy ate it and loved it."

"She loved my apple cakes," Mrs. Kostiw said. "I cooked a turkey and used some of my (blends) to season it and Jean Pierre, Mrs. [Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis]' friend, told her about my cooking, let her taste some and she liked it and wanted to meet me so I made her some apple cakes."