Treasures In the Mail

(Reposted and Updated from my
Springdellgirl blog)

Several months ago I got a treasure in the mail. My sister-in-law, Lori, sent us package of all kinds of fun things and these beauties were inside. They are cookbooks belonging to Tyler's Grandma Johnson. I was so excited. I love old cookbooks. I think they are such a treasure trove of family history. I love leafing through them and seeing the pages that were obviously favorite recipes...ones that are smudged and sticky. I love it when the previous cooks made improvements in the recipe and wrote notes in the book. (I do that.)

Once my mom bought a huge file box of recipes from either an antique store or a yard sale. I can't recall. Either way we had so much fun going through that box and looking at all the recipes...and handwritten notes. We felt like we knew that lady well by the time that we were through. Most of her recipes were really old ones...from the 40's...it was amazing. I also found the world's best recipe for Rhubarb Coffee Cake.

I have several of my Grandma McKinnon's old church recipe books. It is so fun to find the recipes that she submitted and those of her friends. I love it. And...the recipes are delicious. One of my most treasured possessions is an old cookbook that my Grandma and her sisters must have learned to cook from. The copyright is 1925. My grandma was one of 6 sisters who all lived very close to each other and were always fighting. This book shows that very well. On the inside it reads: "This book belongs to Kate Andreason" (my grandma) and then it's been crossed out and it says: "This book belongs to Romie Andreason" and then it's crossed out and it says :THIS book BELONGS to Zola Andreason." Then my grandma wrote her name all over on lots of pages...and they are all crossed out with either Romie or Zola having written their names in her place. I find it hilarious. It is such a great representation of how they really were. They also wrote notes all over inside...improvements and critiques like "This recipe is NOT good" or "This peanut brittle did not work at all" and "Delicious." It's like a time capsule that conjures up the voices and memories of these ladies who are no longer with us.

So when I received these cookbooks once belonging to Grandma Johnson I was so excited to learn more about her. I was not disappointed. She wrote in her cookbooks!!

I can't wait to whip up some of her recipes!!

****Since posting this on my blog last fall I have come full circle. My church group printed our own church Recipe Book and I have several recipes included and even more sweet...my daughter Reilly included a couple of her favorite recipes. I love that one day I will be "Grandma Johnson" and maybe my grandchildren and great-grandchildren will learn more about the kind of woman I was through the recipes and cookbooks I left behind. ****