Grandma's Dishes and some Family Memories

These lovely dishes belonged to my paternal grandmother. My cousin asked me if I would like to have a few pieces for memories sake, but I could not even remember my grandmother's dishes, so I asked her if she would send me a picture. Bless her heart, she simply boxed them up and sent them to me. This lovely gift arrived at my door a few months after my father's death this past spring. Her thoughtfulness touched me deeply, especially because of the timing in my life.

I spoke with my mom about grandma as a cook because I honestly could not remember having meals at my grandparent's home. I remember going regularly for visits, but not for meals. I had always remembered my mom telling me that my grandma was not a cook. She simply did not enjoy the kitchen. Mom shared some family history with me that helped me better understand my mom as a young bride of 17 just starting out.

One of the things that Mom readily recalled was the fact that Friday was Chef Boyardee spaghetti night and that this was what my father new of spaghetti. (My thought was, yuk!). So when Mom found a recipe for the real thing from scratch and put it in front of him one evening for dinner, my father's words were, "what's this?" and wasn't very happy with his new bride. This kind of response happened a great deal in my parents lives. Mom said that one of the things she heard often was, "this isn't how my mom made this". These are words that will take the heart right out of a young brides desire to cook.

There were a few other things that Mom remembered, but I won't bore you with those tidbits. The thing that is most important to me is that my mom loves to cook and is one of the best cooks in the world. She is a fighter and did not quit trying. She taught me that simple food that tastes good is what matters, that there is no place for snobbery or status in the kitchen, or at the table, and to make sure that there is plenty of food on the table. I still make some of the things that were a part of my childhood and that I learned to make while working with Mom in the kitchen. I have many happy memories of those days, and I can tell you that my father was my mom's greatest fans. Blessings...