In My Mother's Kitchen

After my mother died and we went through her house I brought home a few bits and pieces from her kitchen that reminded me of our kitchen while I was growing up. She had moved from a house to a retirement community and she had a small kitchen there so there were only a few things left from those years. I remember this meat grinder. She made the most wonderful ground roast beef sandwiches in the 50’s and 60’s, probably with Miracle Whip and sweet pickle relish and maybe something else. I wish I had that recipe, I can still remember them. With five children including four growing boys, to save money my parents bought part of a cow every year and froze the meat in a deep freezer on the enclosed back porch. Mom would send me out there to get meat for dinner. I remember there would always be several wrapped meat packages waiting to be thawed and used.

I saved some of her recipes in her handwriting, I wish I had saved more. I remember these, I need to make them again sometime.

My memories of this large slotted spoon go way back. I can see Mom at the stove stirring things with it and straining various foods. I love using it.

This pie plate is another constant childhood memory. It is just marked USA on the bottom. My mother loved to make pies and pumpkin was a favorite, many memories of pumpkin pie and other pies in this dish at holiday dinners.

This serving bowl was in constant use at dinner time. For holiday dinners it often held some kind of Ambrosia salad, one of Mom’s favorites. It was made by Fostoria in the American pattern, the pattern was made between 1915 and 1982. This bowl was a wedding present to my mother in 1938.

It’s difficult to see all the frosted fruit on the outside of this bowl. I don’t remember it being used for food, I think she put flowers in it sometimes. It may have been a 1938 wedding present as well.

This is a large shallow bowl or tray. Every Easter it held plastic green grass and Easter eggs. It must be over 60 years old now.

Someone online recently helped me identify this large frosted shallow bowl. I had wondered about it for years. I think it was a wedding present to my mother in 1938. I am showing the bottom because the design is on the bottom. It isn’t marked so it was probably made in the United States using molds from Verlys in France. The pattern was created in France in 1935 and was called,  “Les Canards Sauvage”, (Wild Ducks). It has also been identified as kingfishers and koi. I remember Mom floating flowers in it sometimes and also a vague memory of some kind of floating dessert.

In my mother’s recipe file were a few recipes from her mother, my Nana. She would have been cooking after she was married in 1909 and in the 1920’s and 1930’s. She had a large family to cook for. I always wanted to try this one!

This is another recipe from my Nana, it took over 15 hours to make this one!

A photo of my mother in 1956, she was 40. We were living in Elsinore at the time and there were lots of pepper trees. Every time I see pepper trees, they remind me of Elsinore. I love having bits and pieces from my mother’s kitchen.