Reminiscing

When I was growing, my mother loved to bake and cook.  She made some things from scratch and some things from "convenience" foods and added our own ingredients and vamped them up.    She made pie crusts from scratch, but the filling was made from the cook and serve pie filling, to which she added coconut or bananas depending on what flavor we were using, and added an egg yolk, saving the whites for the meringue.  Then making the meringue and baking the pie.  We made cakes too from mixes, and adding our own touches.    This is how I grew up.  This was "from scratch" cooking to me. 

While my husband and I were dating and talking of marriage and family, we tossed around the idea of me being a stay at home mom.  We had been married a short time, like just a few weeks, less than a month, and I decided one day (my day off from my job) I was going to make a pie to impress my new husband.  So I made it like I learned growing up.  Well when Roy took one bite, he said, something to the effect "this isn't right!"  I asked him what was wrong with it.  He told me it wasn't from scratch.  I told him it was.  He said it was from a box.  I said yes, but I added things to it.  He said "that isn't from scratch"  Something to the effect that "in this house, we will not use convenience foods...everything will be made from "real" scratch"  Well that scared the jeepers out of me!  "what have I gotten myself into?!"    Don't get me wrong, I was glad I married him, but that kind of cooking was not for me!  I used to complain having to help my mom in the kitchen.  So this was going to be interesting! 

My mother-in-law, was the best cook and baker in the world.  She was an amazing woman, she was employed full time outside of the home.  She also was a very successful Tupperware dealer, she prepared taxes for other people, she baked and decorated the most delicious and gorgeous cakes (she did all of her children's wedding cakes) and she was a farmer's wife and raised 6 children.  On top of that she was active in her church and civic clubs.  Through all of this, she cooked and baked everything from scratch. 

So whenever we would be at the farm, instead of lending a hand to my mother-in-law in the kitchen, I stood there and observed and learned.  I watched her and absorbed things like a sponge.  And learn I did...31 years later, I'm still learning thing from her...her recipe books, her recipes, and her children.  I'm wanting to pass all that on to my children and my grandchildren.    This gave the thirst and desire to not only please my husband, but be a good cook as well. 

Those of you that know me, know that I have a huge interest in history.  So in my quest for the cooking/recipes to please my family I found a number of other "recipes".   

When we discovered we were expecting our first child, I expressed the desire to be a stay at home mom.  Roy lovingly agreed.  We had many discussions concerning the finances and how things needed to be.  So, I learned my husband had great knowledge and common sense on money and budget.  Mr. Tightwad in the flesh!  So, I learned to shop and live on a very strict budget. 

Back in the day, we here in Goodland had 3 grocery stores and each one of them ran weekly special ads and each one did double coupon days!  I learned to make out a menu for a week or for two weeks, check my supplies, browse the ads, compare with my coupons and do my shopping based on that.  Rarely buying things not on sale without a coupon.  Meaning, if it was on my list, and sale, and I had a coupon, I bought it.  If it was on my list and on sale, I MIGHT buy it.  If it was on my list and not on sale I did not buy it unless it was an absolute necessity!  We rarely bought meat from the store, as my in-laws raised beef and pork and gave it to us for Christmas every year.  We even did our own butchering!  So.....we had our own tallow.  So...I learned to make soap.  yes, that is right...I made soap and we used it.  We rendered our own lard!  So I used lard.  That is what I fried in and used lard in baking, such as pie crusts!    We raised a large garden, and I learned to do canning! 

We never used disposable diapers.  We used the good old clothe diapers.  I washed them every day.  No, not by hand and not on a rock.  The diaper pail was toted down stairs to the laundry room and dumped into the washer.  They were run through 2 wash cycles (using homemade lye soap) and toted upstairs and hung on the clothes line.  In the summertime, the dryer was never ever used.  All clothes were hung on the clothes line.  Saving energy! 

I made my own mixes, for instance instead of buying Bisquick, I made my own.  Same with Taco seasoning, sloppy Joe seasoning, chili, meatloaf, even spaghetti sauce mix, and some hot chocolate mix.  When I discovered the Once a Month cooking procedure, of course I had to do it a little bit different, or add my own "ingredient".    When I made lasagna, instead of using the canned spaghetti sauce, I made my own using my own mix, then made the lasagna.    So I always has my mixes made up and on hand.  I once checked the prices on the mixes at the grocery store.....it was almost triple the cost of what it cost to make it myself.  

I also made all of our breads!  All the hamburger buns, hot dog buns, sliced bread, garlic bread, etc!  Canning was a huge part of my life, as well as, the bread making!   I made 14 day sweet pickles (yes, it took 14 days to make a batch of sweet pickles), dill pickles, sauerkraut.  I canned tomatoes, salsa, green beans, carrots, peas, bread and butter pickles.  We had fruit trees, so I canned apples, applesauce, peaches, peach jam and jelly and peach butter, cherries, cherry pie filling, cherry jam and jelly, apricots, apricot jams and jellies, apricot butter and pears, and pear butter.  I even canned meats and soups.  It saved space in our freezer for MEAT and the Once a Month cooking foods. 

When our children were old enough they joined 4-H.  In order to take an active part in their activity, we helped them in some of their enrollments.  I became a leader in food preservation and bread baking.  That was quite the experience and I loved every minute of it. 

In doing the Once A Month Cooking, I did it alone.  I did my shopping and prep on Friday and then I'd cook all day on Saturday.  I even made pizza crusts and would freeze them ready for when we had pizza.  Thus started our family nights on Friday nights.  Every Friday night we had homemade pizza and garlic bread.  Then we'd watch movies or read stories or play games.  Then I'd get up on Saturday morning and get busy with the cooking. 

So as you can see, I spent a lot of time in the kitchen!  I thoroughly enjoyed it!  In all of that I found a passion and I'm hoping to share it with all of you and my family.