Actual Family Recipes

As long as I can remember, the kitchen was the center of my family. Growing up, the five of us lived in a modest ranch-style home in a typical neighborhood. And the kitchen was the place (like a lot of families) where we spent most of our time, doing homework at the table, talking about what happened at school that day and either baking elaborate recipes or cooking fabulous meals.

My mom is an excellent baker, and whether it's a large project or small, she loves the hobby of it so much that she actually bakes something just about every day. Some of my earliest memories are of scooting a kitchen chair over to the counter, wearing an apron and helping mix up a batch of chocolate chip cookies (Toll House recipe, of course.) I am the youngest daughter and the last to go to school, so I was home during the day by myself with Mom. And it felt like I was chosen for special duty when serving as Mom's "cookie assistant!" Each of us (my sisters and I) had that same experience helping Mom in the kitchen. That might explain why even today each of us swears we are still Mom's favorite. Also at an early age, my sister caught the cooking bug, scouring cookbooks, trying challenging new recipes and eventually taking over cooking a lot of our family meals. Still today, when she is staying at my parents for a period of time, she is the "manager" of the kitchen and no one challenges her over that role. She also makes the best schnitzel this side of the Atlantic Ocean (the best is still Margit's in Graz, see earlier post, "Life As An AIMS-er." I have to say, my other sister and I like to cook but mostly prefer to leave it to the "experts." However, all of us love food, love to talk about it and appreciate good cooking.

When one or both of us (my sister, the other out-of-towner and I) is in town for a visit, Mom always asks us to send our menu requests. Unfortunately, I'm the one who gets to visit least often, so I usually have lots of requests and a very specific list for those family favorites I miss so much when I'm gone. Also, a big part of every visit home is planning dinner ("supper," as we call it in the Midwest) every night and going into town to shop for groceries. Since I don't do much of the actual cooking but really appreciate the process, I love going to the grocery store and picking out the ingredients.  For one, it's on Mom's dime, but also because it's a bonding experience for the women in my family. It's what we do everytime we're together, without fail.

Eventually I hope to share some of our many favorite recipes we love (except I have NO love for "Bridal Luncheon Salad." Jello is dumb and gross.) and with all of the special and very descriptive names Mom has given these dishes. For instance, there's the nasty "Bridal Luncheon Salad," an offensive, pale green, foamy, Jello concoction that seems to show up at every family special occasion whether you want it to or not. There is also "Copper Pennies," the name that sounds like it would be a "treasure" to eat, but let's be honest, cooked carrots are no treasure. Another decadent recipe that is delicious despite its name, "Bean Sludge," nacho dip made with beans that does, in fact, look like something you'd pull out of your bath tub drain. "Poop Cookies," or "Chocolate Drop Cookies" as they're known in normal families. Thinking about them actually makes my mouth water, which goes to show you just how ingrained and commonplace Mom's revised less-than-appetizing name is to our family.

I'll be making a trip home to visit my family in a few weeks, and I've already started my list of requests (no Jello!) I know that Mom will come through for me. While I'm there, I hope to pick up a few more recipes (and stories) from my family's cookbook.