Visit with My Mother at the Old Homestead

Visiting my aging mother has become a monthly routine.  Fortunately she only lives an hour and half away.  What at first was part obligation & necessity is now an opportunity to revist my growing up years as well as renew our mother/daughter bond. 

I loved the front porch and spent many days & evenings there.

Notice the flowers hanging near the bush.  My mother grows the most beautiful flowers.  Each trip from spring to fall I take a bouquet back to Erie with me.  I have transplanted a few bushes in my own yard, but my trees & flowers don't get along very well. Someday I will miss both the visits and her flowers. 

During some of my visits we go through the rooms 'looking for treasures'  as she tells me what to do with this or that when the time comes . . .

On my most recent visit I decided that I wanted to look through her cook books for family favorites.  Let me tell you why . . . 

During the summer our family & many childhood friends gather at nearby Cook Forest camp grounds for a week long reunion.  Of course food is part of every family get -together and ours is no different.  Everyone loves Grandma's Baked Beans which she makes in her cast iron kettle. 

My mother makes her grocery list about a month in advance so she doesn't forget to buy one of the ingredients.  The night before the big gathering she puts all the ingredients in the pot then puts the pot in the oven on low until morning.  No slow cooker for her beans. Keep in mind that she can no longer lift this heavy kettle so a neighbor comes over to help her.  When I arrive the next morning I take the kettle out of the oven & get it to my car for the trip to the Forest.

My siblings, spouses and grandkids await the arrival of Grandma's Baked Beans and she loves the fuss everyone makes about them.

This is a recipe that I have had in my recipe box for years, but am waiting until necessity demands I make Grandma's Baked Beans.  Now I am on a mission to copy as many of her recipes.  I plan to share a few with you in a series called Mother's Recipe Box.

First, let me share a vase of her lovely flowers.