Nostalgia: the recipe

Just when you think you're parents aren't really listening...

I got a phone call the other day from my mom. Apparently while she was in the basement busy pedaling her 1910 sewing machine, busy stitching up some ruffly curtains for the inhabitants in the van... down by the river... she had an idea.

With this whole "nothing new for a year" thing she was envisioning my dilemma's in the future, in terms of gifts. Now I'm by no means the person who showers folks with expensive items, mainly because I can't, but more so because I like to make people cry. It's the "thought that counts"right? We've heard it a million times, but I really do believe that a gift that you can't really "buy" makes for a better, more memorable gift anyway. It does however pose another problem... Giving a one of a kind, make you tear up gift is not always easy. Hence the gift card. The "non gift" - "gift" if you will. You can't screw up with a gift card. It takes a lot of thought to really nail down a sentimental.. but not totally worthless... homemade gift.

This is how I had it figured. Christmastime is approaching... as is the gift giving tradition. This Saturday I'll spend at least one hour with my head down swimming in circles...Then I've got 7, if not closer to 8 hours pedaling my bike, and, let's be serious, after all that I can't imagine I won't finish 26.2 miles in less than 5 hours. Worse case, that's 17 hours of my Saturday that I won't be distracted by Facebook, or text messages, or those darn Kardashians, no Today show, no funny YouTube videos, and certainly no aimless staring into the refrigerator, so I thought I'd brainstorm on gifts for people.

I guess my mom was a few steps ahead of me.

I got this box in the mail a few days ago.

It's a box of  her old recipes. She's never put them into a book or really had them organized. As a kid, we spent as much time looking for the recipe as it took to make it the dish. What's funny, is that she always could describe to me what it looked like. 

"it's on a piece of paper that has a 7-Up logo on the bottom, and it's written the long ways"

or

"I spilled oil on it one time when you ran into me trying to show me your "triple lutz" and so you can't really read the last few things, but I'll remember"

Well... here they are. 

She probably doesn't even need the recipe for half of these... she remembers most of it, and if she doesn't remember or doesn't have some of the ingredients she makes it up anyway! Do your moms do this? I recall being annoyed as a kid that she didn't "follow the rules" so to say when I would help her, but now I find myself doing the same thing... ha! It's probably also the reason it's a total crap shoot whether dinner turns out good or not... whaddya gonna do?

She's asked me to re-write these for her and organize them... That gift card is sounding better and better all the time huh? :) Aside from trying to decipher the hieroglyphics on each sheet, I'm making copies for myself, and recounting a lot of memories. I distinctly remember making this recipe card for her when I was a kid. It was the first recipe I made by myself and after more than a few rounds of digging for it, I made it nice and bright so it would stand out.

And this one... I must have gotten to with that infamous red pen I also took to the white leather backseat of our old Cadillac... oops

This "gift" is supposed to be for my mom, but I gotta tell ya ma, I'm keeping a copy of all these for myself and the memories too :) 

Sorting through these recipes and taking the time to write them down is something I would have never done, if I hadn't decided to make this year about making the best of what I already have. 

P.S. I haven't stumbled across one "dish". They're all baked goods :) I am my mothers daughter!