Vintage Recipes Bring Back Memories

I feel kind of sorry for the younger generations that may google a type of recipe and follow the directions on the laptop or other device. Last night I was looking for a persimmon bread recipe that I got from the old Duggan house on Swift street that now belongs to my friends the McConnells. There is a very old persimmon tree that makes huge Persimmons and Diana still uses that recipe when it’s harvest time for the vintage tree.

I recently lost my copy of a beloved old recipe and started digging through my books and clippings of recipes not expecting to take a trip down memory lane through the timeline of my life. I never thought I would shed a few tears but many of the recipes were given to me by people no longer on this earth. A beloved sister-in-law that died too young of cancer, a couple of my antique dealers from my old shop on Macon road who provided yummy recipes for punch and baked goods for our many open houses. Both recently of them recently passed away.

How sweet it is to remember these folks when you smell or taste those wonderful recipes! Some of my cookbooks were purchased from my children’s school fundraisers or church cookbooks from all of the churches and schools we were blessed to be a part of during our travels as a military family.

One of our favorite recipes from our church in Crestview, Florida is peanut butter between Ritz crackers that are then dipped in white or milk chocolate. We have no idea what they are called but our name for them was Miss Nixon’s cookies. I can see her smiling face in my mind while writing this. She so enjoyed bringing them to every dinner on the grounds and my children always looked forward to those sweet treats.

I had to laugh when I found a piece of notebook paper where I had written down the weekly menu as a new bride with delicious meals I was going to make for us newlyweds. I think that plan lasted all of one week! I even found recipes that I had cut out of magazines and glued to notecards as a senior in high school during our Independent Living class that all seniors had to take. We learned how to budget, cook, write checks and do laundry I think all schools need to bring this class back!

It also made my heart smile to see handwritten recipes in my mother and sister’s handwriting. I remember one rainy day when we sat down together and shared our favorite recipes with one another. Still searching for the recipe I came across more cookbooks, my first one I bought at a yard sale as a kid, two from restaurants we loved when we lived in Tennessee. I would have never guessed that looking for a recipe would evoke such strong and wonderful memories. I never did find that recipe but I found a lot of joy. Tell your friends and family you love them every day because you never know when they will no longer be there to tell. Happy Collecting!