In Honor of Grandma

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It has been a while since I had a blog post.  The end of the school year was super busy with activities, then I had oral surgery and my Grandma, my dad’s mom, passed away.  Also, I have three kids, a husband, two gardens, I work part time, I meal plan, I grocery shop (well, I don’t really go in the store, but I do spend time ordering it online), and then there is the laundry.  Oh, there is always laundry. It’s like a never ending pile. (Why can’t there be a never ending pile of dark chocolate or a never ending bottle of wine?) I am sure all of you moms out there can relate. (I mean no disrespect. I know there are dads that help too but being a mom is just different). Our job feels like it is never done.  I was also trying to rest a bit after oral surgery and spend time with family after Grandma passed away, so I didn’t get my weekly blog posts done. My Grandma was a pretty awesome lady and a wonderful cook. I am not sure she enjoyed cooking like I do. I think she just cooked out of necessity, because she had a husband and 10 kids to feed.  In honor of Grandma, I thought I would tell about a few memories that I have of my Grandma and her cooking.

If you went hungry at Grandma’s house, it was your own fault.

There was always a plethora of food to eat. She always has some sort of homemade pasta salad or potato salad, ten different kinds of homemade pickles (this might be an exaggeration, but there were a lot of pickles), homemade dilly beans, homemade salsa, meat, cheese and crackers, cheddar and sour cream chips, Cheetos, Ruffles potato chips and an endless supply of Tang.  (Oh, how I used to love tang. I may have to get some in honor of Grandma. My kids would probably love it). And this was just the snacky stuff. Then there were the main meals. (And you never said no when she offered you something. If you did, she would ask you if you wanted anything until you gave in and said yes). There was a drawer in her kitchen, right when you walked in, that you knew had something special in it. She always had special K bars in there for my brother, every time we visited.  She knew he loved them (who doesn’t), and she specifically said she had to make them because he was coming. They were extra thick and had a ton of chocolate on top. My brother likes to think that it’s because he was her favorite grandchild. (I am not so sure this was true, but whatever makes him feel better).

She could peel potatoes like no one else

I remember as a kid just watching her prepare potatoes in order to make mashed potatoes.  She never used a potato peeler. She used a paring knife. Honestly, it was almost mesmerizing watching her peel potatoes.  To this day, I can’t peel potatoes like she did. I always use a peeler. (If I used a paring knife, I would probably end up with teeny tiny potatoes).

Learning how to make her fruitcake

One year, when I was in college, I went up to Grandma’s to spend a couple of days with her.  I really wanted her to teach me how to make her infamous fruitcake. My dad loves Grandma’s fruitcake.  (She probably always had a few fruitcakes in her freezer. Who knows how old they were. They could have been 5 or 10 years old.  Dad said it didn’t matter how old they were, they were still delicious). I took Grandma to the grocery store so that we could get all of the ingredients.  We came home to her apartment and got ready to make the fruitcake. She said to always put a pan of water in the oven under the fruitcake so that it stays moist.  When we were adding in the dried and candied fruit she says, “I always add more than the recipe calls for.” I asked her how much more and she said, “I don’t know.  I just put as much as I think looks good.” Grandma didn’t really have recipes. She just knew how much of every ingredient to put in. She was a fabulous cook.

The end of an era

Today my mom and I were going through some of the cards from the funeral.  We laughed and we cried. In one of the cards, someone had written, “I still use her salsa recipe every year.” In another card someone wrote, “it is the end of an era.” I hope that I can be half as good of a cook as she was. My Grandma was an amazing person and she will be missed so much. She was generous and kind (although she had a wry sense of humor and would always tell you like it is) and she gave the best hugs. She hugged you like she was never going to let go. It is truly the end of an era. In honor of Grandma, I promise to learn how to can pickles and salsa this year.