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Kathleen, this post brought back so many memories I wanted to cry.  Geez you had it good.  We were my Mother and Aunt's Sous Chef's.  By the time I was 12 between my cousin Sheila and I we cooked dinner and tidied up everyday.  My Mom would cook on Sundays and treat us one other day of the week.  My Mother worked long hours and went back to finish her degree, and the great thing is that all of my siblings and cousins all learned how to cook and maintain a home.  We would pitch in and work together so we could get outside after homework was done and play.  I miss those days spent in the kitchen hearing those stories of our family long passed away.  BTW, you had recipe cards?

Thanks for sharing, as this has brought back very fond memories.  My mother would order every gizmo and "..... of the month club" (just fill in the blank with anything!).  One of them was the Betty Crocker Recipe of the Month club, and every week or month would receive new recipes to fill her *free* Betty Crocker recipe card holder.  It's the size of a large shoebox, and I still have it -- very 70's looking.  Believe it or not, I still use some of those cards, too.  We were my mom's guinea pigs, thanks to that recipe club. 

TV dinners, microwaves, pizza delivery all about as lifeless as the boxes they come in. The kitchen was the gathering place for family memories and respect for the family and much of lifes great things and much of mother's and grandmother's love was passed down through the kitchen via recipes and the conversation that was engaged during the preparing of the meal. The extra pinch of salt was added for the seasoning of the conversation as much as it was through the called for ingredients of the recipe.

Thank you Kathleen for bringing these memories back and allowing me a trip down memory lane.

Nice post, thanks.

Thanks all - My mother hasn't been dead that long so this is a part of the process of working through and going through boxes of her things. I got through the easy stuff and donated all  I could. The recipes will stay and my daughters are already asking for copies of things they ate and loved - most recent ,the rhubarb pie.

You all have just shared great stories with me - thank you. I have recipe cards, slips of yellowing paper, recipe books,  newspaper clippings of recipes & my Grandmother's, which had passed  down to my Mom. I could make a new recipe every meal for the rest of my life!

THanks for the memories. And I love the photo! I remember the old Good Housekeeping cookbook with the red and white cover that my Grandma always used.

 

And if reference to your comment on my post - you can be cool. Mac's are cool. I don't know if my friends would agree, but I think I am pretty cool . . .

There are great programs and tools for the Mac - especially for presentations and such. I am also anti-Powerpoint, so I  use Mac's version: keynote. Much cooler.

Vista: Not cool. PowerPoint: Evil

Keli-

 I do so struggle with my Power Points - I have all these COOL sound effects on them and the next time - they are gone - that is Evil.

Betty Crocker just gave up her catalogue - what is next?

No more Fanny Farmer chocolate either............. 

 

Kathleen, What a wonderful story! Momma was fond of trying "new things" for dinner. She had a cookbook collection that was amazing. She also used many recipes from the "Women's Magazines." But I do have her favorite cookbook and find myself using it a great deal. Yes, fond memories come from our comfort foods, which usually came from Momma and Grannie. 

Aren't those recipes passed down from your mother and grandmother and great grandmother wonderful?! I have so many.....there are a lot of recipes I haven't even tried to make yet, but I really love seeing their comments on them. Its like they are right there again. :)

Kathleen - Thanks for this post.  I still have family recipe books with all the notes in them and I pull them out every now and then when I feel like I need something that only a mom can give.  I may not have her here in body, but her spirit and words certainly do live on.

Jackie

Memories of the past that we can somewhat replicate in the present - tastes"just like Momma used to make".

Kathleen, my mother never shared her cooking knowledge with me, but my grandmothers sure did.  No recipes in their kitchens, everything was made from "experience".  I learned to cook by watching them, and being allowed to participate.  I learned to can my own food, bake bread, test for doneness just by looking at the dish, and so much more. To this day I can make my own homemade noodles and can tell just by looking at something that its cooked to perfection!  NOT that I actually cook anymore, but if I had to I could :-)  Thanks for sharing your memories with us. By the way, is that your awesome stove?

My mother is still kicking and at 83 she can still put on a meal for 12 that will knock your socks off. She has always had to cook for 8 to 12 people since I am the oldest of 8 and then we had friends (always).

I gained my independence from her the day when I could make my own fudge from her recipe. It is like no one else's. When I got married I only knew how to cook for 12 so my husband and I ate spaghetti until it was coming out our ears.

Thanks Kathleen for taking American Bandstand to a whole new level!!!

Wonderful story, Kathleen.  My grandmother lived with us and I learned how to make good food from whatever was in the house at the time.  I swear the woman was amazing and I sure do wish I had paid more attention or written it down!  Thanks for a great memory.

Terry - I bake with recipes and I cook with experience - my daughters want a copy of my spaghetti sauce recipe - but I just make it - a little here and all that.  They will have to video tape me.

 My sauce on your noodles - wow!!!! 

Sheron-

My mom lived to the age of 90 and my dad 94.

I still cook large amounts too, but am learning to package and freeze now that I don't have as much time to cook and we are down to 2 mouths most of the time. 

Carole - I wish I had had the chance to get to know my Grandparents - one set died before I was born and the others were already very old and living far away. When we went to visit so did the rest of their family - so Grandma would cook for 30, at least - no time to chat and I was the baby of the grandchildren.

She had a great long skinny pantry with all kinds of big glass jars and sugar cubes.  I thought they were amazing!! 

Kathleen

My mom did the same thing with me and my Dad taught me a few things as well. I never liked the thought of eating leftovers when I was a kid but, now that I have kids Dad's secrets are being passed down.

Mom was famous for her meat loaf, my niece took moms recipe card and can't get it right that's because she wasn't around for the secret ingredient of which I will pass on too my kids.

Was that LOVE - come on Gary - you are holding out on us!

Yum Kathleen, but it has to be vegetarian for me.  I used to make chicken and homemade noodles all the time, kinda like thick chicken soup, it was the favorite of my family, passed down from my greatgrandmother, learned from my grandmother. Its kinda hard to do without the chicken!

I sometimes use cooked lentils instead of meat in my sauce - hard to do the chicken soup without chicken though!! That is what I make when someone gets sick here - chicken soup or chicken & dumplings.

Well lentils it is then!  I actually do still make the noodles occassionally and boil them in vegetable broth.  Not quite the same but the noodles are still good.  Want my recipe? :-)

 Terry-Yes I do - if you are sharing.  I don't have a pasta machine, but my Grandma used to cut them by hand and hang them over flour sack towels over the high backed chairs around her table.  She also had a clothesline that she could string across the kitchen for indoor clothes (& noodle drying).

The kitchen was more like an all purpose room!!! 

So very sweet Kathleen, your mom's cookbook a diary of sorts. I don't have such memories to relate to, so all the more appreciate yours!

So delightful - Cheers Doll!

Great post, my  mother is gone too.

Kathleen here it is.  According to my grandmother, some people did "dry" their noodles before using.  My greatgrandmother did not, thus they turned out kinda like dumplings but ooooooooooooooooo so yummy.

2 cups flour

1 egg

water

 

Put the flour in a bowl, make a well in the middle, add one egg yoke and stir. Then begin adding water till you get the dough to a dry, not too dry, not too sticky consistency.  Roll in a ball, then rollout flat onto a floured surface with a rolling pin till about 1/4 inch thick.  Cut in long strips with a knife and add to boiling broth.

Let me know how it turns out. You won't be disappointed. 

Hi Kathleen,
I have some of my great Grannie's handwritten recipes and I treasure them.  She was an awesome cook and spoiled me rotten.

Terry- Thank you so much, I have already printed this out. I just made some (dead bird) noodle soup for my oldest daughter, as she wasn't feeling well.  I told her you were going to give me your homemade recipe so she will want to try it also - when she gets better.

Cynthis -

So that explains things, Grandma spoiled you!!! 

 By the way, I wore my Grandmother's pearls when I got married and her wedding band.

Oh Kathleen I still wear my grandmothers wedding band!  Its a thin little thing, carved with flowers and engraved.  It fits with my wedding band.  Wearing it constantly reminds me of my granny who just passed away in May, age 99.

Kathleen what a super post.  I did a ton of cooking with my mother and like you, we did lots of talking.  I remember her saving some of my cooking by getting rid of too much salt or thickening a lemon pie filling that I thought was ruined.  You brought back some really good memories.  Thanks  Betty

Terry - I am the baby in the family - we are all 8 years apart - so my Dad died just a few years ago at age 94 and my Mom  more recently at 90.

Betty  -  I have two daughters to pass things on to and they cook with their Great Grandmothers recipes, too.

This is a great post!

I used to learn alot by watching my grandmother- she was the big cook in the family and no matter when you went over to her home, she was cooking something. I learned how to cook when I was 9 years old. I used to stand by her and watch every move and eventually I picked it up well enough to do it on my own.

My mother was more of the eat out kind of gal and she wasn't a very good cook, I guess that skips a generation! LOL!

 Maureen - Some people cook and some people really like to cook - not seeing it as dull, but as creative.

 I am actually not that much of a baker  - I make breads, rolls etc from scratch - but I like cooking better.

Awwwww Kathleen sorry to hear about losing your parents.  But gee you sure did have them a long time.  My dad passed away when he was 60 and my mom when she was 70.  Too soon.  But its amazing that your parents were close in age to my grandparents!

Terry - I am the baby in the family and we are all 8 years apart. My parents always seemed older that the other kids in elementary school.  My brother's children are just a few years younger than I am.

Thanks Kathleen, It really brings you back to your childhood.  Now I'm remembering all the comfort foods of home.  I think I'll go and bake some milehigh biscuits.

What a great story!!  Reminds me of my childhood with my mom.  Isn't it wonderful that they leave us with such heartfelt memories?  I only hope I am doing the same for my children.  My mom is still with me (84 years old), but your story still hit a very special chord.

Thanks,

Chris 

 

Karen Hubert - make sure you put your milehigh biscuit recipe in the  AR recipe groups - please????

Chris - I just have my mother in law left and still need to get out of her the cabbage soup recipe and her potato chip cookie recipe. She will just have to stick around for awhile. Give your mom a big hug for me and then one from you.

The things you learn from mom. My mom is still with us and we've learned so many things. Too numerous to remember.

Robert - You can not remember them all but they become a part of you and it is fun when some incident will pop into the front of your brain - triggered by a smell, a taste, a song.

What a wonderful story.  Thanks for the post.  Nice to have mom's recipes...

It is nice & the other night I made chicken dumpling soup just "like Mother used to make".

These recipes and the memories they evoke live on. 

A few years ago, my cousin scanned her mom's recipies (hand written notes and all) and placed them in binders for family members. My mom loved her copy as her sister passed away years ago. Now my cousin is working on a family compulation. The only rule is the recipies must be written, not typed. Great way to keep the memories going.

A family heirloom  - the best of the best pulled together - fun.

That could be lots of writing. 

I think we all wish we had paid more attention to what we were subconsciously learning when growing up in the kitchen.  Thanx for sharing, it brought memories back for me!!

Patrice - It just becomes a part of us, even if we don't remember the details (or the recipes)!

I hope they were good memories. 

hopefully the mothers of today are doing the same for their kids.  i was going to clean up my mom's cookbook and throw out the old stained written on cards but after reading this post and the other comments i realize that would be a mistake.

Lisa Marie - I am so glad that you changed your mind - I agree that it would be a mistake that you would later regret.  I know that you can't keep everything but some things are worth saving.

That's nice. I wish my mom would have taught me more about cooking. Unfortunately she didn't and as a result, my husband cooks most of the meals, which I guess isn't all bad...

Kathleen - what a neat post.  Sounds like you have wonderful memories.

Cindy - A man who cooks, I think that is great, as long as you can cook enough to survive if home alone.

Amy - I have memories and recipes - some just in my head, however.

Kathleen how very sweet to share that with all of us...we should cherish precious memories like these! Great post!

Patty - I am sure that there are a lot of memories being made in your kitchen!

Kathleen -- what a touching post. I have so many cooking and kitchen memories with both my mom and my mem. Both were excellent cooks, and were kind enough to let me get in there with them and make a mess. My job was fixing the cornbread every night. They encouraged me and encouraged me until I got to be pretty good at it. I began cooking so early that I don't remember not cooking. So many memories. . . thanks so much!

Dawn - Have you posted your recipe for cornbread ( & all tasty goodies) on AR?  Go ahead and put a link(s) to them in your comment

Please tell me what the photo is; it looks delicious! And the recipe?

Doreen - Bread pudding - was my Dad's favorite (I don't really like bread pudding). I will have to see if my MOM's recipe is in her boxes still.

Doreen - Get  blogging so I can leave you a comment on yours - recipes are a great way to start. i think there are at least 3 recipe groups on here.

Great post.  You never know how much you've learned from your Mom until they are gone.  Sometimes I crave some of the things she made.  Some of them I accomplished prior to her death and some of them I didn't.  I also write notes on recipes not only as a reminder to myself but to hopefully leave to my niece a little bit of history.  She;s only 3 now but one day she will feel just as we do.

Sybil - thank you for recording history for your niece - she may be only 3 now but as you know time really can fly.

Hi Kathleen ~ lol. my mothers name. My mom could cook when were were young, and some how gave up? So, I am the matriarch of two families or more. I have recipes from many, but the true method in great food is good people!

Monique -  the right group can make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches into a gourmet delight!!