Phyllis Good - Mom and Me in the Kitchen: Memories Of Our Mothers Kitchen

Copyright 2014 by Phyllis Pellman Good

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Design by Cliff Snyder

Print ISBN: 978-1-56148-793-6

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-68099-007-2

Printed in the United States of America

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Publishers Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Good, Phyllis Pellman

Mom and me in the kitchen : memories of our mothers kitchens / Phyllis Pellman Good and the friends of the Fix-It and Forget-It series.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-1-56148-793-6

A Fix-it and Forget-It Family Book.

1. Cooking, American. 2. Mothers --Anecdotes. 3. Mother and child --Anecdotes. I. Title.

TX715 .G6366 2013

Contents

Meet My Mom
and Lots of Other Moms!

Think about the home you grew up in. What part did the kitchen play? Was your mom usually there? Did you show up just to eat, or was the kitchen a gathering place for other activities?

I love stories. I love how telling stories is contagious. You tell a story, which reminds me of a storyand then were offtrading memories, talking over each other, remembering things we hadnt thought about for years.

We asked our Fix-It and Forget-It friends for stories about their moms, especially their moms part in making meals and caring for them, often in the kitchen.

I asked them these six questions to jog their memories:

1. Tell us about your mom when you were growing up.

Howd she look?

What did she like to do?

What was important to her?

What food did she like to make?

What did you and she do together?

2. What was mealtime like at your home when you were growing up?

Who cooked?

What foods do you remember?

Did you all sit down and eat together?

Was the TV on?

How were picky eaters dealt with?

What do you remember talking about?

3. Tell about a kitchen accidentor an embarrassing incidentthat you remember.

What happened?

Who was involved?

Was your mom home?

What was the outcome?

4. Tell about a birthday mealor another special mealthat your mom made for you one time.

What did you have to eat?

What made it a special time?

5. How did you learn to cook?

Who helped you?

What did s/he do to help you learn?

What did you make?

How old were you?

6. If you could go back to one time in the kitchen with your mom while you were growing up, when would it be?

What happened?

What makes that time stand out to you?

Then I answered those questions with my own mom stories. I dug out old photos. And I started telling my kids what I remembered. Then they started in with their memories of me and our kitchen! See what I mean.

I hope you enjoy this collection of little treasures. I hope they stir up memories and stories you have of your momand maybe of being a mom.

This is some of what makes us who we are, folks!

Mom Herself

M y mom was young, energetic, and always busy. She spent hours every summer in her continuously-expanding garden, which makes sense in retrospect since she grew up on a farm. When I was young, that was part of what always made me associate her with the colors blue (the sky) and green (her plants).

She was always focused on bringing healthy foods into our lives, though some methods were more successful than others. The tofu she hid in a stir-fry was identified by my dad as toad food and therefore never eaten again.

Her use of the vegetable garden was truly inspired. We were allowed to plant our own carrots in the very front row, and despite my aversion to other carrots served at meals, I would always eat the ones I grew all by myself.

While fresh foods were an easy one with my mom, she was not the main cook in the household. Most dinners were headed up by my dad since my mom was often out driving us to our practices for sports. She was incredibly supportive of our competitions and shows and did not miss a day until my sister and I were both old enough to drive.

The limited cooking may have made the things she did make more special. I will never forget how she made homemade chicken noodle soup whenever we were sick, Dutch apple pies every Thanksgiving for our family and friends, sugar cookies every Christmas, and the most amazing baking powder biscuits on cold winter nights.

One of my earliest memories is sitting on the counter, kicking my legs, and singing, Mamas little baby loves shortenin, shortenin, Mamas little baby loves shortenin bread, while she made shortbread. To this day, I cant make it without smiling and singing that to myself. I hope some day my baby girl has a similar memory that brings her as much joy about her time with me.

Angela Hallisy

My mom always made a special treat for us to take to school on our birthdays.

M y mother was a kind, caring, giving person. She always put others first before herself, especially her husband who didnt respect her as he should have.

My mother cooked German food, which was my fathers influence. We often had sauerkraut and dumplings; I have yet to be able to duplicate her dumplings as mine either turn out too sticky or burnt.

My mothers giving nature and kindness has made me the same as her. My husband loves me for my gentle nature and my generosity to others.