Adventures in Food
In the kitchen with mom
My favorite picture of me with my mom
Twice a year. That’s how often my mom would make her almond twists. Christmas and Easter. Using her refrigerated roll recipe, she’d douse the dough with a bit of melted butter and then almond paste, twist, then bake. Sometimes, she’d drizzle them with a powdered sugar icing spiked with maple syrup or just a dab of almond extract. But I was always content just eating them plain.
Around the Christmas holiday I asked my mom for the recipe. “Oh, it’s simple, Kris,” she explained. And then she went through the steps. I made the twists following her directions. They didn’t taste right at all. They were okay. My husband said they were good. But they weren’t mom’s.
You’ll notice I’m not linking to any recipe–or including any. There are just some recipes that only mom can
That's me with the Easter bunny. And yes, I was scared.
make. And some foods that taste best tucked in with faded memories. So many of my childhood memories revolve around being with my mom in the kitchen. I’ve gotta say it: My mom is a fabulous cook. No internet, no blogs, no Food Network, just a few well-worn cookbooks led to crisp lemon chicken baked in a clay pot. Mounds of chocolate cookies that she would make in big batches so she could freeze some for a rainy day. Strawberry-spinach salad. Golden challah bread. Honey butter. Almond twists.
With Mother’s Day around the corner, I’ve been thinking a lot about my mom, who I don’t get to see often enough. And motherhood. I enjoyed reading through other moms’ thoughts on the real joys of motherhood pulled from comments on Motherboard. My favorite has to be finding purpose in my life.
Your turn: What are some of your favorite baking memories with your mom? Or maybe you want to share your thoughts on the real joys of motherhood?
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about 2 years ago
One of my absolute favorite possessions is my mom’s frayed and worn Betty Crocker cookbook circa 1950s. I’ve got a newer one, but I always go back to that one, just because it reminds me of her. And thank goodness, she’s right down the road, so I get to see her every day.
Being a farm family, we ate a lot of meat and potatoes – pork chops, steak, baked taters, green beans, etc. Lots of home-cookin’.
about 2 years ago
My kids really love my cooking and seem to be storing some fond memories away. My oldest loves my lasagna. My mom, though she likes to cook, is not–shall we say–all the adept in the kitchen…
about 2 years ago
Love it. My mom has the Betty Crocker cookbook too! Over the years, she’s gotten rid of other cookbooks, but that one has never ended up in the donation pile.
about 2 years ago
Sometimes those kitchen disasters make for the best memories.
about 2 years ago
I loved helping my mom make chiffon cake…actually, I loved watching her make chiffon cake more than I enjoyed helping.
My mom went in binges. She’d learn to make something and then make a million of that thing (the freezer would be full of nothing but whatever she was hooked on at the time). She was a good cook, esp considering she didn’t learn to cook until she was in her mid-30s. I miss her cooking.
about 2 years ago
My mom couldn’t cook. No, really. She was one of the first career women in the USA and could not even boil an egg when she married my dad. He had lived through a revolution (Russian) and taught himself to cook, then he taught her!
about 2 years ago
I have a mom who couldn’t cook, either. But my grandmother and I used to bake cookies together and that is one of my fondest memories. Thank goodness for the various cookbooks that I collected – they taught me all I know!
about 2 years ago
Sounds like my MIL–her husband taught her to cook.
about 2 years ago
That sounds wonderful–endless chiffon cakes. A freezer full of goodies. Mmmmm
about 2 years ago
Love that photo. And your food memory. My mum wasn’t a baker, and I’m not a cookie or cake cook either. But I think I get my interest in savory flavors from the meals she turned out for 8 every night on her own for 20 plus years. Can you imagine?
about 2 years ago
I can. My mom was feeding 8 too:)
about 2 years ago
What a beautiful photo, Kristen (of you and your mom). I really enjoyed this post.
about 2 years ago
My mom always made Portuguese sweet bread for Easter, no fail. I’ve worked diligently to learn how to make it myself, and now my 18 year old son can make a mean sweet bread, too. The one thing I can’t seem to replicate? Mom’s spaghetti sauce. Mine’s good. Very good. But it’s not the same as my mom’s!
about 2 years ago
Portuguese sweet bread sounds so good. I don’t think I’ve ever had it.
about 2 years ago
My mom was definitely not the greatest cook, but she could make a quesadilla like nobody’s business. It’s the little things, eh?