Tribute to my Mom: Make the recipes in her recipe book

for a personal reason.

I was thinking of “quitting” this goal, now that I am trying to do the Weight Watchers lifestyle. The things in this book were Special Occasion and pretty hefty in calories. I think I might keep the goal for a year, trying recipes once a month. Also, I need to scan the pages, recipe cards, and newspaper clippings to send a copy to each of my sisters.

First of all, looking at my mother’s recipes, many include what my husband calls, UBI (universal binding ingredient), more commonly known as Campbell’s creamed soups. This is a bit heavy for the summer months. So I’ll keep this goal afloat for a while, and be more active in the cooler months.

Also, I was thinking of writing some of my favorite recipes and including them in the binder. Someday, one of the Darlings may find it and treasure it!

When I left my Mom’s house last week, I took her recipe book. This is a binder that has the recipes she collected over the years. It represents a part of my Mom that people don’t talk about much, but was really a very special part of her.

To me the outstanding ones are from friends, gathered at luncheons and suppers she attended. They are in my Mom’s handwriting, with the name of the friend at the top of the card. There are titles like Party Chicken from D Delehanty, or Hor’s “Douvers” from the Gourmet Wine Tasting Party. My parents had an active social life, they went to dance club, played bridge, bowled, and played golf, and of course there was food served there.

There are recipes from other sources; clippings from magazines and newspapers, and family recipes. I’m hoping to periodically try a recipe or two. Many times there were no calories spared, so this will be an occasional sort of goal. The recipes represent childhood memories of Mom, mainly from the 60’s and 70’s, when she was a “stay at home Mom”, and cooked dinner every night.

I love you Mom!