We received a big surprise in the mail last week; a time-capsule of sorts, in the form of a file folder chock-a-block full of old family recipes from my mother-in-law's recipe box (it was a
BIG one!). My husband's sister cleaned out a cabinet and came across some real treasures, she decided to bag them up and send them on their way. We went through them for hours on end, there was so much to discover and reminisce about. I found a note that I had written to my
not-yet in-laws when they accepted a job transfer and moved away from my home town in 1973. Included, also, were recipes that my mother-in-law jotted on the backs of deposit slips out of her checkbook (she would copy them out of magazines when she sat under the dryer at the hair dresser), she had lovely and distinctive penmanship. Some of the recipes were identified as coming from certain family members and church friends (Aunt Tillie, Cousin Em, Mrs. So-and-So), these were names distantly familiar to my husband. She was of Swedish descent, a great number of these family and church recipes are for delectable pastries and desserts made from scratch. A few of the recipes were mine, copied for their Grandma by my own children when they were small. It's the handwriting, on all of these, that goes straight to my heart. Mom had a unique "rating" system on these recipes designated by a series of *s. A rating of *** was, by all means, a recipe to repeat! I pulled a few of those top rated ones and ran to the grocery store for ingredients. I made a
chicken dish for dinner that Mr. G. is still raving about! "So, you like it?", I asked, "it's like a taste of home" he replied. I have a few more surprises for him planned for this week. The best comment, written by my mother-in-law, at the bottom of a asterisk-free recipe for Taco Salad was this one: "
better not fix this again!" I'm still laughing over that comment; why didn't she simply throw that one away?
We'll never know, but I'll take her advice and forego fixing this one.
But, I simply cannot throw it away!
😉
Life is Good!
8 comments:
What a sweet treasure to find!
How delightful to receive such a gift! I would imagine that she'd kept the recipe to remind her of which recipe NOT to make, in case she came across it again. :p I have some recipes like that too, mostly in actual cookbooks. We can tell the ones I've made repeatedly because they are stained with butter or some other food splatters. I now have shared a Dropbox folder full of my recipes and those of my mother/grandmothers with my kids so they are always available when the mood strikes to cook. Eventually they will find the originals in my kitchen stash, some hand-written, some printed from the computer. I hope they'll keep them with the same interest & fondness. <3 <3
What a gift! Have you seen the many tutorials etc online for taking vintage recipes and putting them onto fabric ala tea towels? And definitely a book of some sort (Blurb or Shutterfly) with those scanned images for the children/family/ and grands along with photos of MIL and others with anecdotes or stories. What a treasure! (We use stick on foil stars for the top recipes in our various favorite cookbooks)
Time travel is so much fun with recipes and notes!!
Now about that chicken you made...are we going to see the recipe here?
How wonderful! I'm fortunate enough to have recipes written in the hand of both of my grandmothers and one great grandmother. When my mother-in-law died, we found recipes she had written in shorthand. I have no idea what they say, but they are in my recipe book!
I had to laugh at that last recipe. I actually do have copies of a few recipes that say something similar. I have received recipes from multiple sources telling me how good it is--but we did not think so. I keep a copy with the negative note so I can compare it in case someone gives it to me again with glowing reviews. I'll know better. :)
Love having things in the original hand of loved ones.
Hand written notes really are a treasure and that generation spent hours learning to write so it is legible. I’m not sure my kids Or grandkids will be able to read those hand written notes. When I found my grandmother’s travel diaries I decided to transcribe them onto a blog for my cousins and siblings to read it has been fun finding photos from the albums to go with the script. If you are interested click on my profile to find my other blog. You could do that with your recipes savoring the family history
What a treasure! So good of your sister-in-law to save it for you and send it on. I'm afraid my brother doesn't have a sentimental bone in his body and he said he tossed everything in my mother's house except what has my name on it. Being thankful for small blessings!
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