A month after I turned 22, I graduated from nursing school/college,
had a wedding, honeymooned with my honey, packed up and moved 800 miles from home,
took my nursing boards and started my first nursing job--all within about the space of four weeks.
Midst all that I remember thinking rather frantically that I would need to cook,
and asking my mother for some of her/our favorite recipes.
She wrote them out on 3 x 5 cards and thus began my recipe file.
It's like the opposite end of the spectrum from the high tech P*nterest way of storing recipes.
But I'll hold onto my old recipe box closely for its crammed with my mother's recipes,
Midst all that I remember thinking rather frantically that I would need to cook,
and asking my mother for some of her/our favorite recipes.
She wrote them out on 3 x 5 cards and thus began my recipe file.
It's like the opposite end of the spectrum from the high tech P*nterest way of storing recipes.
But I'll hold onto my old recipe box closely for its crammed with my mother's recipes,
others I've copied from friends, some of my grandmother's, ones my aunts have copied
for me, etc. I like seeing their familiar hand writing and the worn, stained look, often
remembering the occasion when I first was served the dish …"Oh, could I
please have the recipe?" Yes, a box filled with memories, a treasure. Food holds an
significant place in our lives--heritage, social occasions, holidays, traditions …
It's all there in a small 3 x 5 tin box.
remembering the occasion when I first was served the dish …"Oh, could I
please have the recipe?" Yes, a box filled with memories, a treasure. Food holds an
significant place in our lives--heritage, social occasions, holidays, traditions …
It's all there in a small 3 x 5 tin box.
Well done for hanging onto that precious box of memories.
ReplyDeleteWhew. Crazy, but your Mom's handwriting could pass for my own back-in-the-day. It was the oddest feeling to see that card and how much it looks like it could have been my own... especially from my earlier days.
ReplyDeleteI, too, continue to treasure the handwritten recipes from those early years... you hardly ever get one now.
That 3 x 5 box is indeed a treasure chest. blessings and hugs ~ tanna
I have managed to hang on to my oldest recipe book- a Betty Crocker. It's from the late 70s- and it is filled with scraps of paper that I have written recipes on. My mom has a box just like the one pictured- full of old recipes that I need to write down.
ReplyDeleteA treasure indeed!!! I have a history much like yours and I have treasures like this too. We left home the year after we married and I relied on these treasures to keep me connected to those left behind. Have a grand day! Cathy
ReplyDeleteI still use my old recipe cards too! :) I have them stored in a binder now in plastic sheets but there they are, some very old and stained too :)
ReplyDeleteI have a recipe box as well, built up over the years and with a few of my mother's hand written recipes I asked her for.
ReplyDeleteYes, I'm collecting recipes on Pinterest and typing out the ones I use most for handy reference on my iPad but I still like my spattered cards too. I'm sure that my daughters don't have recipe boxes and just rely on technology when they want something.
Judith
A printed recipe from the computer will never replace these food-smudged cards handwritten by loved ones
ReplyDeletewhose tables we've gathered around.
Best,
Bonnie
I have a little wooden box that I'll never part with. Like your tin box, mine is full of recipes from my mum, aunts, sisters and friends from all over the world. There's a recipe for Sate, written on a paper napkin, filed under 'S'. I'd never transcribe it to a card - there are memories in that napkin!
ReplyDeleteDotsie...how fun to see this post. Just a few days ago, I posted almost an exact replica of a photo on Insta Gram. I have a tin recipe file, one I received at a wedding shower almost 35 years ago, to hold recipes from guests coming that day. I have kept it, all of these years, adding to it along the way, and it is crammed full, of spotty, dotty, splashed on, cards that hold not only recipes, but memories of the people from whom I got them, and years of holidays, parties and fun times. I shall never get rid of it either.
ReplyDeleteXO Kris
PS Are you on Insta Gram?
Dotsie...how fun to see this post. Just a few days ago, I posted almost an exact replica of a photo on Insta Gram. I have a tin recipe file, one I received at a wedding shower almost 35 years ago, to hold recipes from guests coming that day. I have kept it, all of these years, adding to it along the way, and it is crammed full, of spotty, dotty, splashed on, cards that hold not only recipes, but memories of the people from whom I got them, and years of holidays, parties and fun times. I shall never get rid of it either.
ReplyDeleteXO Kris
PS Are you on Insta Gram?
Hang on tight to the old recipe cards for far more than the recipe alone. Your four weeks after graduation sounds positively exhausting!
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to let you know after your last post I felt more motivated to tackle my recipe files and am making headway. My mother's handwritten recipe cards I didn't bother to go through because I knew they were all keepers. It is wonderful, isn't it, to see one's loved one's handwriting....my mom's been gone for 19 years now....and to have the memories stirred right along with the batter!
ReplyDeleteOh, that box is a treasure indeed! I love my recipes that are written by the hand of a loved one. And I totally agree with your words..." Food holds an
ReplyDeletesignificant place in our lives--heritage, social occasions, holidays, traditions …"
I have some recipes as far back as my great grandmother. All of the recipes were handed down to me.I can still picture my grandmother with her steno tablet with the pink lines...writing down a recipe from the radio.
ReplyDeleteSweet memories.
Balisha
Bravo, Dotsie! I have two recipe boxes, and I would be VERY upset if anything ever happened to them. They don't just hold recipes -- they hold memories, as well. As you said, they really are kitchen treasures.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this with us, Dotsie. I love the way you write about family connections. :) Hope you have a good day and stay warm!!
Big hugs,
Denise
I have lots of recipes handwritten on cards in a tin too. Some I'll keep forever. I am thinking of framing a few just because they have my grandmother's handwriting on them.
ReplyDeleteDeanna
Hello! This is my first visit, having just seen your comment on Cathy's blog (Morning Musings). Perhaps we are mutual Susan Branch 'girlfriends' as well? Your charming post reminded me of her similar post some time ago; she had included special mementoes in addition to recipes. That prompted me to start tucking in tidbits of my own that bring a smile whenever I come across them again: a sweet note or photo or quote. Thank you for sharing; I shall visit again!
ReplyDeleteSharon in Alabama
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThat is a real treasure, I wish I had my mother's recipe box, it would truly be worth holding onto. Have a good weekend.
ReplyDeleteThat brings back memories. So nice that you have it!
ReplyDeleteHandwritten recipes are so precious. I have two boxes full that I don't plan on discarding any time soon.
ReplyDeleteI've never thought of recipe boxes going the way of the dodo bird, but I think they might. So sad.
I also have my mother's recipe book with her hand written recipes from the 60's. My older sister re-wrote a lot of her recipes in this 'new' book so I have her very neat hand-writing too. And, I have my own tin of recipe cards that I wrote as a new bride in the 1970's. I hope my daughter will appreciate it some day. Lots of wonderful memories of the triumphs and failures of baking over the years.
ReplyDeleteI have a battered little note book that my mother in law wrote lots of useful recipes down for me - I still peep inside and I've had it 37 years x
ReplyDeletePodso,
ReplyDeleteMy son is "Cook" in his household.
He uses the internet for new recipes, too. . .
However, at Christmas, I gave him a folder cookbook filled with family recipes. Many were the written copies from his Grandmothers, Aunts. . .even the ones he wrote in Home Economics Foods Class in Junior High. He told me, "I will cherish this, MoM."
I am so~o~o glad that I gave this "gift" of generations to him the Christmas of his 40th Year!!!
Thanks for sharing your recipe file with us!!!
I cherish mine and my beloved Mother~In~Laws!!!
Fondly,
Pat
I still have all my early marriage recipes, too, Dotsie! When my daughter got married I had a wooden box made for her and asked everyone at her bridal shower to fill in a recipe card I enclosed in the shower invitation. I'm hoping to keep the tradition alive!
ReplyDeleteMemories of cooking with my mom and seeing her handwriting on these little cards melts your heart.
ReplyDeleteBlessings, Catherine xo
Everyone should hand write recipe cards and pass on down to loved ones!
ReplyDeleteIt's a gift within a gift!
A most special recipe box with probably the very best recipes full of memories! A treasure!
ReplyDelete