Monday, March 22, 2010

Labors of Love

Our daughter Jen resurrected some of her Grandmothers old recipes.  The ones written in her Grandmothers hand.  She made a scrapbook for herself, and gave a copy to her Father.  Since then we commissioned another copy that was given to Far Guys sister. 
 Click on this photo to enlarge! 
When we cleaned out Far Guys Moms apartment recipes were found in drawers and tucked in books..I put them in a plastic bag..I knew they would be worth reading someday.   One day Jen asked if she could take them home with her, and a recipe scrapbook was born.  Jen was very close to her Grandmother, the recipe book was cathartic way to move on and forward through the grief that she felt after her Grandmas death. 

The little bits of paper that these recipes are written on and the comments we make as we perfect a recipe are important.  Historical in their own way. 

I have a  friend who started a new blog recently..she is sharing her Grandmothers recipes.  Gram's Recipe Box is a treasure trove of old recipes..I enjoy reading recipes..not so much the cooking part..but the reading part:)

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh how I love old treasured recipes! Jen has done a lovely job of showcasing these bits of her Grandmother's life. Thank you so much for sharing this with all of us. I'll check out the new blog link also.

Andrea said...

Her poem is beautiful! Is she a writer or just a rich soul? I love the idea of old recipes...always wished and wished that my grandmother had written down the things she made...all the old world Italian home-foods, I wish I could make them now. So I read the italian blogs looking for the ones I miss. I do hope that everyone reading this will keep the old recipies for their grandchildren to savor!

Far Side of Fifty said...

Thanks for your comments!
Erin P. Jen is an English Professor at a Community College..Poetry is her first love:)

Maery said...

I never knew my grandmothers but my Mom had her recipes written in steno notebooks. She'd also cut out recipes from the newspaper and glue them to the pages. She also would note the ones that were especially yummy. Wonderful poem!

Nezzy (Cow Patty Surprise) said...

How beautifully she displayed these treasured recipes from times past! This will be a wonderful keepsake for generations to come. Thanks for showin' it to us.

God bless ya Connie and have a great week!!!

Becca's Dirt said...

Beautiful poem from your daughter. So glad you saved the recipes. What's a cookbook gonna cost me? I have a few that have been passed on but ya know most are still in my head.

DJan said...

What a wonderful thing to do, and it will be treasured for generations to come. Makes me wish I knew some of my mom's old recipes, but she never wrote them down and she's gone now.

Patsy said...

I have my grandmother and mother's old cook books, like you I love to just read them.
Patsy

carolina nana said...

Thank you so much for this blog.I just found a bunch of my husband's mother's old recipes,written
on and in the same way you have described. What a wonderful idea to save them. Have a blessed evening.

The Retired One said...

A wonderful idea! I love that she kept it in her handwriting and used those wonderful borders.

Leah said...

Great job Jen! --- and what a wonderful post!

Lynda said...

What a precious gift!!!! And it's more than just the paper it's printed on - - - it's all the time that went into it, too! Love it!!!!

Norkio said...

Connie, thanks for the link love! I am overwhelmed by the response so far, but moreso, reading and handling each one of these cards is like a touchstone to Gram and to another time. Some of them have little to no instructions, because of course women "just knew" how to do some things! I've never baked bread in my life, not even in a bread machine, but I am feeling like I want to try now. Just once so I can say I baked one of her bread recipes. I love what your daughter did with the recipes too. That is a great way of preserving the handwriting and the recipe!

http://gramsrecipebox.wordpress.com

LadyFi said...

I love that loving poem in the first shot. Beautiful. And what a great memory that book is.

Unknown said...

That's a great idea, I think I'll borrow it! Thanks!

DayPhoto said...

I love reading recipes and I love reading cookbooks. It's nice to know that even when we pass those things we enjoyed are saved by those we loved and put into useful memories.

Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com/