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Baker. Cook. Gardener. Animal Lover.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Contentment






Old recipes and old recipe boxes fill me with happiness and contentment. The red plaid one was my mothers. And I am lucky to have it. I remember it sitting on the drainboard in our kitchen when I was a little girl. Every afternoon my mom would start going through it wondering what to make for supper.I treasure her handwriting on those recipes. My mom passed away 3 years ago this August from cancer. But having those old recipes is like having a piece of her here with me still. The meatball recipe was from my Aunt in Santa Cruz. I love to serve those with boiled white rice and gravy. We are still in bbq mode around here, but I am sensing a shift. I am growing tired of bbqed burgers and chicken right about now. I want those meatballs and some gravy and corn that is no longer on a cob, but in a can. I know. Canned corn? But it reminds me of my childhood. And how can that be a bad thing?

So, once again, tonight we will sit outside and bbq those burgers and eat that corn off the cob. And I better enjoy every second of it, because, before long, I will look out to that garden and watch the rain pour down and remember those late August bbqed suppers. And I will smile.

5 comments:

  1. how sweet is this!? I love old recipes!

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  2. K Bird, you're right. I think that my Mom's and Grandmother and Nonie's recipes are treasures beyond gold. When I cleaned out my Mother's garage 3 years ago after she passed away it was as if she left me the best gift in the world-an undisturbed box packed away in newspapers from 1952 and filled with my Grandmother Lovejoy's iron skillets,dutch oven, and an entire box of recipes (huge box) both from our family and from a Los Angeles Times cooking class she had attended in the 40's. To top it all off??? her aprons!! What a long thread of tradition we carry. Love, S

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  3. This is just wonderful, thank you so much for sharing. I, too, love seeing the handwriting of people I love. It's something timeless and precious. I keep every letter from my mother in a box, along with little notes she left me when I was a teenager, like "remember to do your homework" or "Shannon called," or bits of inspiration like "croutons with rosemary to top pumpkin soup!"
    Not to worry, Autumn isn't far off now, with plenty of opportunity for harvest bounty and warming dishes.
    And remember...someone is going to treasure YOUR recipes one day, so get those gingerbread-dough-fingerprints on them, so there's a piece of you forever marking the recipe! (You should see my copy of Sue's 'Autumn;' sticky finger prints all OVER! That's what makes it mine!)
    xo Dawn

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  4. Thanks you guys for the wonderful comments. I know we all cherish those beloved recipe cards. That's something money can not buy. Treasures in a recipe box.

    xxx
    Kary

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  5. Whew, i'm swallowing hard. This made me remember Bea and how much she loved her kitchen, and her garden, and you!

    xx
    julie

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Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by. I appreciate all your kind comments more than you can know.