Books
Of all the things that grandmother’s give, unconditional love, guidance, fun, stories, gifts, safety from punishments, and more, my grandmother gave a double portion.
It is difficult to count the ways that I am like her; the way I eat, my eyes, my tastes, and the way I cook. She retired from her part-time job when I was about two years old and took care of me during the day while my parents were at work. Living less than a mile from my house, I spent countless nights, weeks, summers at my grandparent’s house.
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At their house, you could usually have whatever you wanted for breakfast and lunch. Dinner was mostly grandpa’s choice. From homemade waffles to special ice cream floats, grandma would do anything. She even made an event out of heating up Campbell’s chicken noodle- if that’s what I wanted.
My earliest memories are standing in a chair helping her pour and stir in ingredients. The older I got, the more things she let me do in the kitchen; measure, use the stove and oven, season the flour and shake the pork chops, turn the bacon, etc. She wasn’t the only one who taught me how to cook. My grandpa was a master on the grill, and both of my parents showed me how to cook day-to-day meals and special holiday items too.
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My grandmother was patient with me and explained why certain ingredients went together or why she did things the way she did. Cookies are where we started baking; next was a pineapple upside down cake; and then my favorite, Cherry Apple pie, and on to pound cakes. She let me lick the beaters and the bowl but I did have to share that with my little sister.
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With those foundations, I could then interpret any recipe I saw. The recipes in this book represent recipes that I either made with my grandmother, recipes I know she made without me, or recipes other family members loved from her. If I could not remember or find the actual written recipe from her, then I adapted recipes based upon her cooking methods. My grandmother usually liked things SWEET!
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I hope you enjoy this passion project. I have never attempted anything as ambitious as this and am well on my way to being a master recipe designer. I think the next volume will be a little easier to create. If you have suggestions or variations of these recipes, please let me know. I want to create a community where we share, learn, and grow in keeping cooking traditions alive.
Happy Baking!
coming soon!
Granny Smith's Apples
A collection of sweet treats