Ok… so the title seems a bit odd…it is and yet it isn’t. Some of the most poignant memories we have are associated with meal time, food and the preparation of food as we are growing up.

Much of this particular site is devoted the metaphysically themed articles and items. However, I have been finding things from the past coming forward to be addressed or, perhaps, re-addressed during this Universal shifting for growth. It may be purely personal or…as I suspect…it may be widely spread. The past being brought foreword to remind of lessons, to remind one about priorities, to help one heal and move on without having to repeat the past…any or all of the reasons may be applicable. The past doesn’t have to be past lives, though I do feel that they are a part of the growth process right now as well, but the immediate physical past…that of growing up…is what will be discussed in this column and in subsequent articles.

I have been cleaning and clearing old boxes with many old papers and pictures over these last few weeks…something I have meant to do many times but just never seemed to get to it.

Well, when the Universe wants you to do something, it will give hints, suggestions, nudges, and then just kick you in the patootie to get you to do it. That is what happened to me. The excuse of no time available due to work was removed and having the items stashed out of the way in an expensive storage unit for nearly six years was forced to a head by not being able to afford it anymore. Thus…re-living the past by sorting and pitching and repacking into a more compact form.

Nostalgia was rampant, especially when I found the batch of old recipes from the home where I lived as a child. They were recipes we…my grandmother and mother…used a lot. There were favorite recipes I remember making but had thought were lost or actually mutated into something similar but yet not the same. Memories can be tricky and perhaps all those recipes I remember so fondly are not really as good as remembered…I haven’t tried re-making them yet but I will as finances and oven availability comes into reality. In the mean time, I will include the past life flashes associated with some particular recipes and will include a few of added interest as well.

What I find totally interesting is how the recipes have changed over the years. How in the world did we survive with all the “traditional” cooking? Or was it that cooking which led us to the physical problems we have today? It seems that the popularly collected recipes I have found so far would not be a big hit with the health food brigade but I will try to include something healthier if I find them…even if I have no particular memory of ever making them.

The first memory I am addressing is a wonderful old-fashioned rice pudding. I have searched for this recipe for years but never could find it…until now. I absolutely adore GOOD rice pudding…usually without raisins but with them is fine, too. I used to sit and eat the pudding but whenever I came across a raisin, I would pick it out and set it aside to throw away. (Hey…I also used to pick the kidney beans from the tomato juice chili, too.)

But, as my tastes have matured, I have come to accept the raisins whenever they are included in any recipe.

I remember standing by the old electric stove over the floor register and stirring the pot while it came to a boil. In the winter, this was great because I got warmed from the furnace as well as the heat from the stove top. In the summer, I didn’t have to worry about being over heated because the furnace didn’t come on then. We usually made the pudding in the mornings after breakfast or mid-to late afternoon, just before supper. The thing with making it in the afternoon was that the full bowl rarely made it to the supper table because I really liked eating it as warm as possible. I loved cleaning/licking the pot and spoon. Somehow, I never quite emptied the pot so I could have more to lick and had a serving all my own that way without snitching it from the big bowl.

This recipe was hand written on a steno book page and may have been written by my mother. It appears to be in her handwriting but she probably copied it from something else. I find it a bit hard to read because the pencil lead in fading. That is another reason I wanted to preserve these recipes…most of the handwritten ones were written in pencil and the pencil is smudging, fading and distorting.

Recipe # 1:

Rice Pudding

Combine in a saucepan, 1 cup Rice - 2 1⁄2 cups milk - 1⁄4 teaspoon salt- 1⁄4 teaspoon cinnamon - 1⁄2 cup sugar - & 1⁄4 cup raisins. Stir constantly until ingredients come to a rolling boil. Reduce heat and boil slowly for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Slowly pour hot mixture into 2 slightly beaten whole eggs. Beat vigorously. Add 1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla. Sprinkle with nutmeg and let cool 10 minutes. Serves 4.

Recipe # 2

(This recipe is not one I remember making. I believe it is quite a bit older than me because the steno paper it was written on is more yellowed and the handwriting is different…not like my mother. May have been either my grandmother or my aunt. Really don’t know but thought this recipe seemed interesting. I don’t normally like many barbecue sauces but have been used to those sauces being bought and in a bottle, not being cooked like this. It might prove to be better than the bottled stuff or, then again, it may not. If you give it a try…leave me a message on how you liked it.)

Barbecue Sause (This was how the title was spelled.)

1 qt ripe tom. (tomatoes)

1 qt green (tomatoes)

2 bunches celery

2 large cucumbers

3 large onions

1 green pepper

1 red pepper

1 yellow pepper

1 head cabbage

1 cup salt

3 pts vinegar

4 c. sugar

1 tps (teaspoon) white mustard seeds

Chop all except celery & ripe tom. Put in kettle with 1 cup salt let stand alnight (again how it was spelled). Next morning chop celery & ripe tom. Add sugar and vinegar & mustard seed and cook 1 hour seal in hot jars.

(Remember that this is an old recipe and if you do decide to try it, please let me know if you make any adjustments and how it turned out.)

Recipe # 3

(I don’t remember if we ever made this cake or not but I liked the name. Again, if you try this recipe, please let me know how it worked and if you liked it.)

Screw Ball Cake

Into a bowel put 3 cups flour

3⁄4 cup cocoa

2 cups sugar

1 cup Mazola oil

2 cups cold water

2 teasp. Vinegar

2 teasp soda

2 teasp vanilla

Thoroughly mix and bake in large pan. 350° or 300°

Icing

2 cups brown sugar

1⁄4 cup milk

1 stick oleo

Boil 2 min.

Cool and add powdered sugar until right stiffness.

(I will end this particular article with a homemade tomato catsup. Seems simple. If you do try to make it, please let me know what you think about it and whatever other steps may need to be added to make the recipe clearer. This recipe was on a very old piece of paper which had been folded so many times it was wearing out.)

Recipe # 4

Tomato Catsup

1 gal tomatoes strained

6 tablespoons salt

3 “ “ black pepper

1 “ “ cloves

2 “ “ cinnamon

2 “ “ allspice

1 1⁄2 pints vinegar

Boil down one half.

1 peck tomatoes will make 1 gal strained.