Tonight I am thinking about my Grandma. I miss her. I wish I had a picture of her to post on here, but I don't have any on my computer. I started thinking about her as I was going through my recipe books looking for a recipe.
When she passed away in 2004, I got a lot of the stuff that had been in her kitchen. I think tonight was the first time that I have actually looked through the cook books I got. And I am truly realizing tonight what a treasure they are, and how happy I am that although I wasn't wise enough then to see the value in them, for some reason I took them.
Cooking and baking are some of the most vivid pictures I have of her. Even in her old age she was an avid cooker and baker. Some of my favorite memories at her house were sitting in the kitchen at a little table with two chairs talking with her while she was cooking. Also, sitting at her long dining room table eating her "orange" chicken that I have wished for several years now that I could find the recipe written down somewhere, but I'm sure it was never written down...just like everything else she made.
I still remember the smell of each room in her house. I remember what each room contained. I remember what it smelled like when she was cooking. I remember her hands being wet as she washed and cut the tomatoes from her garden. I remember loving that she never told me "no" when I asked for some kind of treat. I remember how she always had lemon drops and gum in her purse.
Two summers ago when I was staying with my cousin in Utah I felt like I got to remember her everyday because my cousin has pictures of her throughout the house. I also felt like I got to know her more through the stories my cousin told me. It was the first time that I felt like I hadn't had enough time with her. That's how I feel tonight.
She was a beautiful women. She was a tiny little woman, with tiny hands...but a great big heart. She was the strongest woman I have ever know and made it through so many unimaginable things. She loved to cook and bake, but most of all loved her garden. She was a sewer and for many years to make money would fix up items she found and resell them. She loved animals and loved people. She had a beautiful life.
As I've grown older I have realized how much I'm like her. The things I love are the the things she loved. The things I have found beauty in are the things she found beauty in. I wish I could sit and talk with her for hours. I wish I could have been at the point I am in life now when I had the time I did with her. I regret that I didn't understand how valuable it was to know her deeply. I truly feel like I missed out.
So...all that to say, that if your grandparents are still around, know them deeply. See what you can learn from them. See what is beautiful about them and how to add that to your life.
I'll leave you with a recipe that I found tonight in her handwriting. I haven't tried it, but maybe I will soon...or maybe you can try it first and tell me how it turned out! Here it is:
Coke Cake
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees
2. Combine 1/2 a cup of buttermilk and 1tsp of baking soda and set aside.
3. Combine 2 cups of sugar and 2 cups of flour.
4. Combine 1/2 cup of margarine or butter, 1/2 cup of oil or shortening, 3 T of Cocoa and 1 cup of coke in a pan and bring to a boil. Pour over sugar and flour and stir.
5. Add 2 well beaten eggs, 1tsp of vanilla, and 1 1/2 cups of miniature marshmallows together. Then add buttermilk and baking soda mixture.
6. Bake at 300 degrees for 50 minutes.
For Coke Icing:
Combine 1/2 cup of margarine or butter, 3 T of cocoa, and 6-8T of coke in a pan and bring to a boil. Pour over 1 lb. bag of powdered sugar. Add 1 tsp of vanilla and 1 cup pecans(optional) and pour over hot cake.
Yum! Enjoy!
When she passed away in 2004, I got a lot of the stuff that had been in her kitchen. I think tonight was the first time that I have actually looked through the cook books I got. And I am truly realizing tonight what a treasure they are, and how happy I am that although I wasn't wise enough then to see the value in them, for some reason I took them.
Cooking and baking are some of the most vivid pictures I have of her. Even in her old age she was an avid cooker and baker. Some of my favorite memories at her house were sitting in the kitchen at a little table with two chairs talking with her while she was cooking. Also, sitting at her long dining room table eating her "orange" chicken that I have wished for several years now that I could find the recipe written down somewhere, but I'm sure it was never written down...just like everything else she made.
I still remember the smell of each room in her house. I remember what each room contained. I remember what it smelled like when she was cooking. I remember her hands being wet as she washed and cut the tomatoes from her garden. I remember loving that she never told me "no" when I asked for some kind of treat. I remember how she always had lemon drops and gum in her purse.
Two summers ago when I was staying with my cousin in Utah I felt like I got to remember her everyday because my cousin has pictures of her throughout the house. I also felt like I got to know her more through the stories my cousin told me. It was the first time that I felt like I hadn't had enough time with her. That's how I feel tonight.
She was a beautiful women. She was a tiny little woman, with tiny hands...but a great big heart. She was the strongest woman I have ever know and made it through so many unimaginable things. She loved to cook and bake, but most of all loved her garden. She was a sewer and for many years to make money would fix up items she found and resell them. She loved animals and loved people. She had a beautiful life.
As I've grown older I have realized how much I'm like her. The things I love are the the things she loved. The things I have found beauty in are the things she found beauty in. I wish I could sit and talk with her for hours. I wish I could have been at the point I am in life now when I had the time I did with her. I regret that I didn't understand how valuable it was to know her deeply. I truly feel like I missed out.
So...all that to say, that if your grandparents are still around, know them deeply. See what you can learn from them. See what is beautiful about them and how to add that to your life.
I'll leave you with a recipe that I found tonight in her handwriting. I haven't tried it, but maybe I will soon...or maybe you can try it first and tell me how it turned out! Here it is:
Coke Cake
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees
2. Combine 1/2 a cup of buttermilk and 1tsp of baking soda and set aside.
3. Combine 2 cups of sugar and 2 cups of flour.
4. Combine 1/2 cup of margarine or butter, 1/2 cup of oil or shortening, 3 T of Cocoa and 1 cup of coke in a pan and bring to a boil. Pour over sugar and flour and stir.
5. Add 2 well beaten eggs, 1tsp of vanilla, and 1 1/2 cups of miniature marshmallows together. Then add buttermilk and baking soda mixture.
6. Bake at 300 degrees for 50 minutes.
For Coke Icing:
Combine 1/2 cup of margarine or butter, 3 T of cocoa, and 6-8T of coke in a pan and bring to a boil. Pour over 1 lb. bag of powdered sugar. Add 1 tsp of vanilla and 1 cup pecans(optional) and pour over hot cake.
Yum! Enjoy!
1 comment:
absolutely beautiful. although you are sad about not being able to talk with her now, the wonderful thing is that you get to 'carry her life' on with you. people will see those same things in you that you saw in her. you are a wonderful person... and i love you. :)
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