I love love love this! That you and Rebecca have linked up is amazing - my two Substack favorites! Immediately I think of a pound cake recipe that my father-in-law is famous for in the family. And my mom's fried pork ribs. I'd love to start putting something like this together for Max. Can't wait for more on this topic!
Fried pork ribs with pound cake for dessert! Sounds like summertime heaven. All you need is a picnic blanket. (And I agree with Rebecca, you're a connector!)
I am 77 and healthy, and I am right now getting all my recipes put together so I can leave them behind. My mother was English, and she often made roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. But her pudding was not the normal one. It was the consistency of cornbread, and everyone loved it. I saw (not really watched) her make it all the time, but I never learned how to make it. The recipe was not in her recipe book, so it is lost. 😢
I love that you are working on a cookbook for your family. Your mother's yorkshire pudding sounds delicious and I can relate to how it feels for a recipe to be lost. I have several like that from my nana, which I've been fiddling with for years to get "just right." Maybe you'll find a new way to make a yorkshire pudding that reminds you of how your mom made it, and you can start a new tradition.
What a wonderful idea! It is so sad when favorite family recipes are lost forever so I love this idea for my mom and MIL who are both still alive.
Although, what do you do when you have relatives who are reluctant to share because they consider them a “secret recipe?” My husband’s uncle owned a restaurant and was a boss cook but would not share his recipes for his signature spice mixes or bbq sauce. He died and sadly those recipes went with him!
That is difficult when someone has a "secret" recipe they don't want to share. In those cases, it may not be possible to include their food in a legacy cookbook. But, I always think it is worth inviting someone out for lunch or dinner, or just talking with them kindly the next time you see them if it is a regular occurrence, and sharing how much their food means to you. Then you can ask, without any pressure for them to agree, if they might be willing to share the recipe for a secret family cookbook that will never be published, but that will keep the delicious things they made in the family.
I love the idea of taking them out or just having a no-pressure chat about it. That is something I didn’t think of - that they might have a perfectly good reason for not sharing or are worried about it being made public.
Some of my best childhood memories are of making Christmas cookies with my mom: Grandma's sugar drop cookies, chocolate crinkles, Mexican wedding cakes, cutout cookies, and more. Come to think of it, I have a lot of good memories around food. When I was little, Mom made bread every week. To this day, freshly baked bread smells like home. Or when we moved to a house in the country, with a mixed orchard on the property, and I'd help Mom prepare the crop for canning. One year, we had a bumper crop of cherries, and I spent an afternoon pitting them while she turned them into pies for the freezer - 17 of them. The following January, my brother asked for cherry pie for dessert. Imagine his surprise when she brought out pie #17!
I love everything about this. What beautiful memories you have around food! I can almost picture what it must have been like, to harvest fruit from the orchard with your mother, then carefully transform them into preserves and pies. Thank you for sharing, you made me smile - and that's saying something as I'm still working on my first cup of coffee this morning. :)
My mum has always wanted to write a memoir, but has never (at least not yet) gotten around to doing it. A couple of years ago I gave her a blank book of recipes for her to fill in her own.
This is a lovely idea and post, Christina. Such a beautiful and sensitive blend of your two passions.
I hope she takes you up on your offer and writes her recipes down! And thank you, I'm glad you like this post. I was a little nervous about how it might be received - I quite enjoy contemplating things like this, but I have learned not everyone shares my sentiment. :)
I love love love this! That you and Rebecca have linked up is amazing - my two Substack favorites! Immediately I think of a pound cake recipe that my father-in-law is famous for in the family. And my mom's fried pork ribs. I'd love to start putting something like this together for Max. Can't wait for more on this topic!
You are a powerful connector, Sandra.
That's a great compliment, thank you!! 🥰
Fried pork ribs with pound cake for dessert! Sounds like summertime heaven. All you need is a picnic blanket. (And I agree with Rebecca, you're a connector!)
I am 77 and healthy, and I am right now getting all my recipes put together so I can leave them behind. My mother was English, and she often made roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. But her pudding was not the normal one. It was the consistency of cornbread, and everyone loved it. I saw (not really watched) her make it all the time, but I never learned how to make it. The recipe was not in her recipe book, so it is lost. 😢
I love that you are working on a cookbook for your family. Your mother's yorkshire pudding sounds delicious and I can relate to how it feels for a recipe to be lost. I have several like that from my nana, which I've been fiddling with for years to get "just right." Maybe you'll find a new way to make a yorkshire pudding that reminds you of how your mom made it, and you can start a new tradition.
My second published book first began as a collection of family recipes I was putting together for my son. Love your project.
I love that, a cookbook meant for your son. He's a lucky young man!
He’s a tremendous cook, baker and culinary teacher, too. (Do I sound like a proud mom? 😉)
What a wonderful idea! It is so sad when favorite family recipes are lost forever so I love this idea for my mom and MIL who are both still alive.
Although, what do you do when you have relatives who are reluctant to share because they consider them a “secret recipe?” My husband’s uncle owned a restaurant and was a boss cook but would not share his recipes for his signature spice mixes or bbq sauce. He died and sadly those recipes went with him!
That is difficult when someone has a "secret" recipe they don't want to share. In those cases, it may not be possible to include their food in a legacy cookbook. But, I always think it is worth inviting someone out for lunch or dinner, or just talking with them kindly the next time you see them if it is a regular occurrence, and sharing how much their food means to you. Then you can ask, without any pressure for them to agree, if they might be willing to share the recipe for a secret family cookbook that will never be published, but that will keep the delicious things they made in the family.
I love the idea of taking them out or just having a no-pressure chat about it. That is something I didn’t think of - that they might have a perfectly good reason for not sharing or are worried about it being made public.
Some of my best childhood memories are of making Christmas cookies with my mom: Grandma's sugar drop cookies, chocolate crinkles, Mexican wedding cakes, cutout cookies, and more. Come to think of it, I have a lot of good memories around food. When I was little, Mom made bread every week. To this day, freshly baked bread smells like home. Or when we moved to a house in the country, with a mixed orchard on the property, and I'd help Mom prepare the crop for canning. One year, we had a bumper crop of cherries, and I spent an afternoon pitting them while she turned them into pies for the freezer - 17 of them. The following January, my brother asked for cherry pie for dessert. Imagine his surprise when she brought out pie #17!
I love everything about this. What beautiful memories you have around food! I can almost picture what it must have been like, to harvest fruit from the orchard with your mother, then carefully transform them into preserves and pies. Thank you for sharing, you made me smile - and that's saying something as I'm still working on my first cup of coffee this morning. :)
My mum has always wanted to write a memoir, but has never (at least not yet) gotten around to doing it. A couple of years ago I gave her a blank book of recipes for her to fill in her own.
This is a lovely idea and post, Christina. Such a beautiful and sensitive blend of your two passions.
It’s a divisive topic, to be sure, but you approached it with sensitivity and care.
I hope she takes you up on your offer and writes her recipes down! And thank you, I'm glad you like this post. I was a little nervous about how it might be received - I quite enjoy contemplating things like this, but I have learned not everyone shares my sentiment. :)