Cookie Day
Submitted by Kim from Missouri
October 9, 2006
Each year the third Friday in December our family (mom,
my sister, my sister-in-law, niece, cousins and
cousin-in-laws and any child big enough to help all
gather in my sister's huge kitchen and pool our
ingredients bought weeks in advance, armed with our
favorite recipes, hand mixers and favorite rolling pins,
etc. fellowship together as we pitch in as a team and
prepare our favorite holiday treats. We call it "cookie
day" although we turn out much more than just cookies.
We set up several 8ft. banquet tables to serve as work
spaces and turn out literally hundreds of candies,
cookies, fudges, toffee, brittles, and baked items. We
order delivery pizza and stop only long enough to grab a
bite and then it's back to work. At the end of a very
long day/night session we gather at the kitchen table to
proudly admire our finished treats. Then we divide up
whatever each of us wants to take home to distribute to
our friends, neighbors, family and co-workers. Hard
work? If it was, we didn't notice. We were too immersed
in something we love and treasure the memories of the
family ties, for there is no substitute for good food
and family and friends. Our mother passed away this
year, but you can bet that we will continue on the long
standing tradition that has helped make our holidays a
special one of love. I always tell the young
girls that the secret ingredient that many people leave
out of home cooking that make sit taste so good is
called "Love".Top of
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Heels of Bread
Submitted by Lillian, FL
January 30, 2006
Heels of bread, ends of bread, crusts of bread....so
many names to call each end of a loaf of bread.
All of us loved the "heels" of Mother's home made bread
but there are only two to a loaf and there were many of
us who wanted that delicious
morsel, buttered while warm and so fragrant.
Once, Mother baked 8 loaves of her soft-crust French
Bread, wrapped them in clean tea towels and put them
into boxes and a basket, to transport to a family
picnic. She had several willing helpers to take the
bread into the house.
When it came time to slice some of the bread, all 16
"heels" were gone!...sliced off and missing!
We enjoyed the bread, but not those wonderful crusts
that were the ends of the loaves. It just seemed that
the most important part of the bread, the meal, was
missing.
Of course, some grinning faces gave a clue as to who had
enjoyed those slices but, except for the grins, we had
no proof.
Whoever did enjoy the bread had a wonderful picnic and
you never want to take that away from
anyone.....besides, there were always other days,
other loaves of bread to savor.
Top of
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She
Tarts
Submitted by Lillian, FL
January 4, 2006
Have you ever
tasted a food or smelled something that brings memories
flooding back to you with the force of raging flood
waters? Well, I have frozen some Fruit and Nut Tarts,
called She Tarts in Old England and Wales, that I made
for Christmas. I brought some in to share with
co-workers today.
From the time
I was a little girl, a favorite dessert of mine were
these little tarts, filled with raisins, currants and
nuts, all in a rich pastry crust. My
Great-Grandmother's recipe was handed down and I still
use it, especially for the holidays.
After
marrying and moving away from my family, I missed these
little gems but always knew that whenever we were home
on leave, Mother would have a supply there waiting for
me. There were plenty for enjoying while at home and
then some in the freezer to be taken back with us. I
really can't think of a time when any of them made it
back to our home.
I will be
sending the recipe to our Recipe Box for all of you to
enjoy. Pour a cup of tea or coffee, or maybe a mug of
steaming cocoa, when you bake these because they will
beg to be eaten. Maybe you will even have some for the
freezer for later use. They do make a rather large
amount and they aren't just for holiday enjoyment.
They really
are a taste of the past and bring pictures racing into
my mind of childhood and family. The main ingredient in
these morsels of pure heaven is LOVE.
Lillian
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Super Sister
Submitted by Leslie, FL
March 7, 2006
As I was just posting my
mother's "Heels of Bread" memory (yes, I have gotten
woefully behind in posting), I asked myself which of my
childhood memories having to do with food I would write
about if I were to submit something to this page.
My childhood included a lot of food / kitchen / baking
memories, as the kitchen was always the heart of our
home, as the saying goes.
We ate meals together at
the table, as a family, way before it became a TV
campaign, and Mom always had something home-baked.
My earliest memory is of sitting on my jumping horse and
watching Mom take a loaf of bread out of the oven.
But the memory that came
to mind when I asked myself that question was from when
I was about 6. I had a peptic ulcer and had to be
on a bland diet for a year and a half, until it healed.
No ketchup, no chocolate, so spices, no carbonated
beverages. One day I went into the kitchen and my
sister, then about 13 years old, was making chocolate
chip cookies. I wasn't tall enough to see
everything she was doing, but when she finished baking
them, she carried out an extra plate that she had made
just for me -- she had left the chocolate chips out of
some of the cookies and used food coloring to die them
red, blue, green, and yellow! She did that just
for me. I'll never forget how lucky I am to have a
sister who is that thoughtful.
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Page
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