On Recipes & Life and Being Connected....

Wednesday, October 27, 2010


Around Thanksgiving last year I mentioned that I inherited a few of
 my grandma's handwritten recipes from her recipe box.
Not the whole recipe box, that belongs to one of my aunts, but she let me choose
 two recipe cards to keep and then my mom copied the rest for me.
The two recipes I chose were her peach cobbler and pie crust.
There were others in the box that I remember her making or have heard many
 stories of her making but they were not in her handwriting.
And I really wanted it to be in her handwriting.



Peach cobbler is not something I remember her making, but to me peach pie 
is the one thing she is probably the most famous for making.
She made the best peach pie I have ever tasted.
Seriously.
And I figured peach cobbler was the next best thing.
Her pie crust was to die for.
So flaky. Heavenly, really.
Many of my aunts, including my mom, make delicious pie crust and
 a few are pretty similar to my grandma's crust.




My grandma and grandpa had apple trees and peach trees and a garden. 
I remember apple pies, peach pies, mincemeat pies and rhubarb pies.
My grandpa loved mincemeat and everyone joked that he probably favored it 
because no one else liked it too much and he got it to himself.
They were probably right.



This week I decided I would make peach cobbler using my grandma's recipe.
Apron on, Tom Petty playing in the kitchen.
I got down to work.
Reading the recipe, in my grandma's writing.
Thinking that this used to be a daily activity when my grandma had all of her kids (15) at home.
Cooking big family meals and baking pies for dessert is just what you did.
My aunt saved me peaches from her peach tree and
 brought them to me a couple of weeks ago.
Cut up and frozen, ready for baking.
The peaches were so good.
Nothing like canned, or store bought.
So I made the cobbler. 
And it turned out.
And it was actually good...even though the very outer edge got just a little burnt.


And I thought of family traditions and passing down recipes 
and memories and how I want my kids to have all of that.
My family and our traditions and cousins and aunts and uncles have shaped my life.
Taught me what is important, what family means and how there is nothing
 on earth like a family's bond.
 What real power growing up and creating memories together creates in your life.
Passing on stories and recipes and traditions and not spending time together
 or celebrating Holidays together because it is what you
  have to do 
but because you love to do it
and wouldn't want to be anywhere else in the world.
*******
Wow, all of this from a recipe card.
A little too deep for a Wednesday evening? 
Happy Wednesday everyone, hope you all are having a good week so far!

20 comments:

  1. I love that you are as sentimental as I am. Yes, one little piece of paper can inspire so much goodness. ♥tlb

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  2. LOVE this a lot.

    it is also making me consider what my children will cherish with my handwriting. i MUST write more recipes instead of saving them on my hard drive. i must write more love notes instead of sending matt an e-mail. thank you.

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  3. Amy, I loved this. Recipes are so important to me because cooking is so important to me. I make my mother-in-law write down recipes that she is known for the same reason--I want to see it in her handwriting. I want my kids to see her recipes in their Nina's handwriting.

    This was a beautiful post. Thanks for sharing it.

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  4. I want to eat this with my coffee in the morning...

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  5. That's so special. how lovely! I don't have any family recipes, but when we moved into our house, I found lots of recipes from the old lady who lived here. You've inspired me to dig them out.

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  6. what a beautiful post, I enjoyed reading every word. Your grandma's recipes sounds so wonderful.

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  7. I have lots of memories of may Grandma baking too.
    She was famous for her cookies and made them by the 100's. I have her cookie sheets and I'm still trying to get that recipe even somewhere close.
    Thanks for the trip down your memory lane.
    Enjoy the day

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  8. Hi Amy,
    Even though I'm not a big cook, I love this post. My grandma always cooked and baked, so reading this made me smile, thanks. And I love your new header! All the best, Maureen

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  9. This is so special. I too have my Mother's handwritten cookbook, it is filled with vintage magazine clippings and little side notes ~ like "from Aunt Joan" or "better with extra sugar". It is one of my most treasured things (along with my vintage sewing machine that you loved!!!). I have started a recipe journal myself in the hope of passing it along one day.

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  10. We are so lucky to come from such a great family! Love this post. It made me happy.

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  11. amy! i just posted an appel pie recipie on my blog just for you :)

    http://elisabetottosson.blogspot.com/2010/10/mini-appel-pies-non-fat.html

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  12. definitely not to deep for a wednesday night. i loved this. my family doesn't have many traditions and it's something i want so badly for my kids. this post reminds me why. thanks for sharing friend. now, can i have a slice of pie please?

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  13. GREAT post! I don't come from a big family and we are all so spread out. Sniff.... this post makes me wish we were all a bit closer and could hang out more! There really is nothing like FAMILY :D

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  14. Don't you just LOVE the handwriting of those ladies??
    My great-aunts and great-grandma, all of whom I never got to meet, had that exact writing:)
    It's so lovely.
    Wish mine could be more poetic looking more often. I only have my moments, in all the hours I've written. :P
    Today Mom's been simmering apple cider, peeled and cored apple slices, and spices..down to make apple butter. YUM.

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  15. my sweet younger sister gave me a box full of family recipes she collected from all of our grandmothers, family friends, and other important women in my life - and gave it to me as a wedding gift.

    i love opening it up and reading through the years of memories and wonderful women.

    thanks for reminding me how special that is . . . your pictures capture the sentiment beautifully!

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  16. Yes!

    I love this. I am such a sap where stuff like this is concerned.

    I've already told my Mema that all I want are her dishes, mixing bowls, pots, and pans. And her quilts and crochet hooks. I fear my cousin will come and nab them out of spite. And then I will kick her ass and the law will have to be called. Just sayin'.

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  17. Your grandma had 15 kids!?!?! Wow. Those are the perfect recipe cards to make. Now I'm dreaming of making pie crusts from scratch for Thanksgiving.

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  18. First- I am passionately in LOVE with peach pie.

    Second- Your grams had 15 kids??? AWESOME! :)

    Third- Recipe please :)

    Fourth- I rock out to Tom Petty all the time.

    LOVE THIS POST!

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