Just One Of Those Things

As I was reading a friend's blog entry (and it was the included image that made me think of this, but the post is worth reading), I was reminded of a time when my paternal grandmother corrected me. I was young, maybe six, maybe a little older, and I was talking to her about Nancy Drew. I mentioned Nancy's tit-ee-an hair, and my grandma said, "Tee-shan."

My grandmother was of country stock, she lived on a dirt road, and yet she knew how to pronounce Titian. She'd been to college. She also knew how to make whoopie pies, which she we called devil dogs. She knew a whole lot of stuff, and I wish I could hang out with her for a while. I left the country at the end of 1992, and my grandma died in 1999. I saw her in between, but she had Alzheimer's, so it was hard. I don't know if she knew that the baby she held in 1996 was my daughter Charlotte.

This is just one of those things. Tonight I made Christmas-y treats with two of my friends, and our significant others were there too. We had a great time. But S. reminisced about her grandmother's bun recipe, which no one had managed to write down, and I thought about my grandma's cooking. We have her recipe for Texas sheet cake, Ranger cookies*, and some other things. I feel sure, however,  that there were things that Grandma made without a recipe, and we've probably lost those forever.

*I preferred chocolate chip cookies, but Grandma seemed to always make Ranger cookies.

And so we go on. If I have grandchildren, they may not care that I correct their pronunciation of Titian; they may never encounter that word. And that's okay. (It took a lot for me to write that.) I do hope that I can give them some memories, and more importantly, some recipes.

Which means, oh hell, I need to start writing my cooking down.

Comments

[Pumpkin]

I am sending Audrey my recipe for the veggie quiche that I often make. She loved it while she was visiting the last time and wants to make it for her family there. She made crepes for them already since I sent that recipe back with her.

It is another way to connect with her. I never really thought about those recipes becoming a part of her future family but I am sure they will.

I have recipes (mostly written in chicken scratch) shoved in a kitchen drawer. It would be a good idea to type those all into the computer and print them out. :D

Happy Holidays to you guys!!!!

[mari]

I horribly miss my grandma Adkins' butter custard. She showed me how to make it - but I was twelve and it was all sticks of this and handfuls of that. The only thing that went into a measuring cup was the milk. And I didn't write it down, like a moron. I've found "butter pie" recipes, but they're not the same thing. :(

I also don't have the recipe for my grandmother's (the one who raised me) boiled custard. She'd make two gallons at Christmas, and that stuff was wonderful. For the longest time, I bought what was available at Kroger, but starting last year, I haven't been able to find it. Just eggnog. :(

The only recipe of my great-grandma Taylor's I have is her yeast bread recipe. She taught me how to make that bread, apple pies, biscuits, and peach cobblers. I've found recipes that come close to her pie and cobbler though.

[mari]

I don't have any daughters, but I've been sending copies of most of my recipes to my cousin Thea in North Carolina. She and her daughter, who's almost seven, love them - and most of them come from our grandmother, which she appreciates.

[Margaret]

I never know how to pronounce words because although I read a TON, I rarely hear the words said. And English is very irregular. My paternal grandmother was a fabulous cook and my mom has some of her recipes. Like many wonderful cooks though, they don't always follow any written recipe or they make changes to it that no one else knows about.

[Ms. George/Liz]

I make my Grandmother's sugar cookies every Christmas, even though she died before I was adopted. The recipes have as much history as the stories sometimes. Blessed Yule to you and Allan...