| There is no
question that Mom's Recipes will need some explanation
here. I have to say it was a real trip down memory lane
when I typed these recipes into the computer. I can see
her recipe book, I believe much of it was hand written by
her into an old Hilroy scribbler. There were oil stains
on the front of it and on many of the pages because that
book got quite a workout from her. When I saw Norma &
Al's names on one of the recipes I remembered the rare
visits we had with the "Manitoba branch" of the
family. So many of them are gone now too. There is a
recipe from Grace Mollison, who was Mom's hairdresser
forever. Grace was far more than a hairdresser, she was
Mom's friend, confidante, adviser in many things. I
sometimes went with Mom when she went to get her hair
done and because I stayed quiet (yes, it is
possible) I heard all sorts of gossip that was probably
none of my business. I loved every minute of it. Going
through the recipes also brought back some memories. The
"Puffed Wheat Squares". She probably made that
one hundreds of times. When we lived on the farm there
was always a large bag of puffed wheat in the pantry.
Like many things, the bag was usually taller than me. To
this day, the rare times that I smell puffed wheat, I am
back in that pantry again, opening the large bottom
crisper drawer of the old fridge to get an apple that I
would polish up for Dad. He often had an apple after
supper while sitting in the living room watching Gunsmoke
or Sea Hunt.
The most important thing to remember when looking
at these recipes is that when Mom wrote them down she
always knew exactly what she meant but few other people
did. Her cooking skills were legendary and when she wrote
a recipe out there was a vast amount of information about
it that she didn't need to bother writing down. That's
why, when relating a recipe to someone she would always
be using phrases like, "until it looks right",
"until it feels right". Getting her to explain
how she made something was always both hilarious and
frustrating. For me, it was always part of her charm. In
the cookbook she would sometimes list some ingredients
and give no directions. She didn't need
directions, she knew what to do. You are warned: use
these recipes with caution.
|
 INDEX OF RECIPES
|
