In my Grandmother's Kitchen

"Life is what happens to you while you are making other plans"

- John Lennon, Beautiful Boy

Sigh.

It all starts with the best of intentions: I am going to bake. I am going to cook. I already do those things so how hard will it be to do this and post it on the blog, even just once a month? Then life begins to happen.

I am among the millions of unemployed in the US. When I left my last job because the pollution was making my lungs bleed, things looked promising. I would recover on the coast where the air was clear and do some consulting work, manage a few events/parties a month, but for the most part there was no fear or concern. I could always go back to work, right?

Right. Four weeks after I started to look for a new job, the economy tanked. I have moved in with my parents, moved across country and back, and sent out 1000+ resumes. Cooking and baking faded into the background. With a weekly food allowance of $20 it is limiting to say the least! But the intentions were still there.

This past weekend I found the file that contains my grandmother's recipes. Gran was a farm girl and a farmer's wife, she raised a family during the depression and was one of the toughest birds I'll ever know. When her mother died, her older brothers sold everything in the house at an auction and didn't even let her go inside to save her recipe box - I don't think she ever forgave them. When I heard that I made sure all her recipes cards were photo copied front and back and stored in my fire-proof safe, she never need worry that the same fate would come to her box. When she died five years ago I tucked them away and hadn't looked at them since.

Most of my early memories of food involved my Grandma. I remember standing on a chair pulled up to the counter in the kitchen and watching her bake or cook for whatever event was coming up that week - she was a member of every Women's Club there was and never missed a bake sale, potluck, or bazaar. I thought it was so great that I was allowed to sift the flour in the Hoosier cabinet sifter, and lick the beaters. We watched Julia Child together every day, and cooked lunch together every noon. Julia was great, but I thought Grandma was the best cook and baker of them all! It is funny, the perspective of a 5 year old. When I saw the recipes staring up at me, something in my mind told me it was time to pick them up. If she could weather the depression and still cook such great food, I might be able to learn a thing or two now while I find myself in my own personal depression.

Except I am not so keen on the cans cream of (fill in the blank) soup, the gelatin salads, the frozen whipped topping, and the canned vegetables. There has to be a way to have all those feel-good recipes without the processed convenience food and still save a bit of money. So that is my challenge: update my Gran's recipes. I can't promise they will be healthier, she loved to bake and most of her recipes were for desserts, but without the additives and preservatives at least they will be a good treat every so often.

I would never have thought that I would be sharing these with anyone, but sometimes the most exciting things happen when you are making other plans.

Cheers,

Amy