The Journey

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March 25, 2012

Well, here it is - my massive conglomeration of family recipes.  This collection spans about five generations (including a small stash from myself) on my mother's side of the family specifically, her mother's side.  When my mother passed in 2000 I was left with a lot of stuff.  My grandmother followed her five months later.  The box of recipes they'd painstakingly collected and moved from home-to-home, state-to-state as life led them here-and-there was now mine...and I didn't even know it.  The box had been misplaced for 20+ years, along with my  second great Aunt Charlotte's  recipe for 'Grandma Cake,' the confection I seemingly never heard the end of from my immediate grandmother.  It was the cake of her childhood, she ached to taste it but I didn't find the box until after she was gone.  Now, I eat it and so can you. (smile) 

'Grandma Cake' is my effort to share this mass of culinary history with my family members and friends spread abroad the United States and in Canada as, it's all just sitting here and I'm the only one privileged its enjoyment as of this moment.  There are hundreds of recipes, clippings etc. adorning my dining room table right now so, there's lots in store for the future.  I plan to scan each and every single clipping into this road-map through heirloom taste-buds and I'd love to promise one-a-day... I'll just promise to do my best.

Imagine my shock when I opened a random box over ten years ago and found all of this.  First, I was over-joyed then, I cried because they'd missed the discovery and we couldn't share it now, I'm thrilled with the history. Maybe we'll all discover a long-lost family recipe amidst these pages or re-discover some 'new' ones;  'Grandma Cake' is my journey as much as it is yours, I've yet to read them all.  Welcome to my cooking and baking heritage on paper.

I should also mention, the vintage recipes in this journal range from the 20's - the 60's.  Any recipes added while the box was MIA range from the mid 70's through the 90's.