My grandmother handed down the ham, potato and salad recipes to my mother, who grew up in Mt. Sterling, Ohio. She lived in Columbus throughout her adult life.
She learned to cook from her mother, but my mom continued to refine her skills by gathering information and recipes from magazines, newspapers, television shows and friends. There were always scraps of paper and little notebooks around the house with recipes written on them.
Mom often served my favorite meal for Easter and other holidays, too. I have continued the tradition by making the dishes during the holidays for my husband, David, and our children, Sean, 9, Julia, 7, and Rachael,
3. I'm lucky enough to be a stay-at-home mom and sew professionally on the side.
Today, I look back and admire Mom's patience with cooking… and life in general. Every Sunday while I was growing up, she spent hours in the kitchen prepar-ing a formal dinner that was served in the dining room.
She always made foods from scratch. I remember how she'd dice and chop vegetables into perfect little pieces. It was a lot of work, but cooking was her way of giving the most of herself to family and friends.
In this Story
- Passed Along Recipes
- Cook's Favorite Book