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 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

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

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.

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.

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!

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? :-)

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.

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

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!

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!

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 

 

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

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

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.

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!!

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.

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.

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

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!

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

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.

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!

Kathleen,

This is so sweet. That's how important mom's kitchen is to most of us; it's the setting for our most important history lesson. My love of food is a reflection of these memories and the desire to share the love felt in that kitchen.

You've said it very well.

Sergio

I miss Mom and the her kitchen.  I also have fond memories of my grandmother cooking all day long at the beach house.  She was skinny, but wanted us all to be well fed.  Good memories!