My Nana was the quintessential young woman of the 40's. She took pride in cooking for her husband and her children. These were the times where communities were driven by the depression and World War II. Rationing was the name of the game and recipes started to consist of canned, packaged, and powdered foods. These types of foods were staples throughout her life. My Nana passed away in 2008 and left behind a drawer in her kitchen full of the recipes that, I believe, defined her and the life she lived. I moved into her home a few months ago, and when sorting through her things, my Mom asked me what I wanted to do with all of those recipes. I said, "Just leave them Mom, I will figure out something to do with them."
Well, here I am...inspired by my good friend, Sara, of Culinerapy. (http://culinerapy.blogspot.com) Although I do not have the writing skills that she has, I am hoping to bring my Nana's old recipes to life. My goal is to pull from this drawer weekly and recreate a recipe. Maybe even tweak them a bit to bring them up to date, nutritionally. I guess since I am a Dietitian, I have a hard time eating foods with Crisco being the main ingredient!
I have opened up yet another can of worms in my busy life! So when my family asks me what is for dinner, they may be getting Beef Stupendous with Green Bean Casserole and will have to wash it down with a Tomato Cocktail! I hope they don't disown me!
I love it Marisa. I was wondering what you were going to do with that drawer full of treasure. Can't wait to see what you plan to cook every week...I may even 'tweak' to make it vegetarian style. :-)
ReplyDeleteMarisa, this is fantastic..there are a ton of blogs out there of people cooking there way through other people's cookbooks, but in my opinion, this is so much better. I love the thought that the recipe that you pull for the week may have been served at some important event in your family's history and that you are keeping that spirit alive. Good luck with everything and go easy on the oleo.
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I'm so, so happy you started this! I'll be right here with you as you go through that drawer, looking forward to each new adventure. What a wonderful way to keep memories alive, AND create new ones!
ReplyDelete(And I can't wait to see these recipes... should be a hoot! I think we should make one when I come down in June, yes?)
Nana would be so proud and honored. This blog will be fun for us all! Thanks for keeping Nana's spirit alive.
ReplyDeleteI love it! You are so cute and creative and I already added a link to Nana's Drawer on my page so I can visit you often...and try all your yummy recipes:) Congrats on your new venture...
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