A Haven for Vee

Thursday, May 17, 2012

A Sunny Morning Chat



~Peanut Chews and Arnold Palmer~

Yes! The sun is shining. Wonder of wonders. And, it will shine through the weekend. We are promised so it has to be true. After that, things go downhill again. This report is brought to you because there are those in the UK who depend upon such things in the same way that I depend on Judy and Lovella to keep me informed. When those two start talking about sunshine instead of rain, I perk up. Hope that this does the same for Barbara and Linds.

Thanks to all my Note Card Ladies. I want to apologize for forgetting about the party myself until way late. On short notice, many of you came through. Lovely photos all over the place. Susy described finding her photos this way: Here are four I think are worthy of another spin around the dance floor.  Isn't that perfect?! So, yes, it's giving some of our photos another chance to shine. The next party is scheduled for June 20 with Mr. Linky going up the evening before. I am leaving myself a little message at the top of my sidebar even as I lower the graphic. Edited to Add: Being the model of efficiency I am, I closed Mr. Linky too soon. Ceekay, fresh back from Florida, hadn't had the opportunity to link up. *Her note cards are so beautiful,* I hope that you'll have the chance to visit.

Those peanut chews were made a few days ago after reading Jill's posts. (You'll find the actual recipe *here.*) I am not going to spoil the story for you because it's a cute one and you'd enjoy it.

I'll hint at it instead by telling you about finding my mother elbow deep in ingredients one day shortly before Christmas 2006. She had finally found her grandmother's recipe for some treat in the bottom of her grandmother's old recipe box. The recipe had slid down and had been lost for years and years. The box itself had been lost as well.

Mother would tell us the same story every year about how her Grandmother D always made this particular treat and it was so delicious and how much she enjoyed it. It was very expensive to make having all manner of unusual ingredients. I looked around and saw pistachios, maraschino cherries, miniature marshmallows, some sort of liqueur and I've long forgotten what else.

My mother had imagined for so long how that recipe would taste and, when she finally had it all baked, I watched as she took the first bite. She chewed on it for a bit then announced that it did not live up to her memory. The end. I must have that recipe here somewhere just so I could warn you to stay away. Perhaps it's slipped to the bottom again.

So Jill tells a story about a recipe that lives in memory until...

Oh, one last thing, do you need a recipe card? Catherine Holman offered a great one on May 10. I used it to write down the Peanut Chew recipe. Sweet!

Do all your favorite recipes live up to your memories?

27 comments:

  1. I too tell stories over and over again, therefore they will go down in memories even if right now my kids roll their eyes at me.

    We are trying to make a family cookbook..on going. After a family dinner we will discuss putting a recipe or two in our book...now my daughter-in-law is contributing.

    This makes me want to go bake something from my grandmother...thanks for sharing

    ReplyDelete
  2. The peanut chews looks so tasty.

    Hubby and I repeat the same stories over and over and I see my older nieces/nephews rolling their eyes! Unfortunately for my waistline, all food tastes good to me!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Good morning...I have had that happen more than once where a recipe was lost, found, and then did not live up to the memory, haha...probably the reason it was lost in the first place?? ; ) Hope you have a good day!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I usually make my favorites all along, so they do live up to my memories...

    However, I remember loving Hostess Twinkies as a child and years later in my 40's tried one and had to spit it out. I could taste all of the fake flavored chemicals in the filling...lol

    ReplyDelete
  5. In the last week I forgot the brownies in the oven and had to throw them out, and the garlic bread for company dinner went up in flames. Those are my memories (:

    But... I had a great time at the Notecard Party!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Isn't it the intrinsic nature of our memories... To not "live up", when repeated? :-)

    After all, a memory is magic.

    Repeating it, is just ordinary.

    :-)

    "If I'm honest I have to tell you I still read fairy-tales
    and I like them best of all."


    ~~Audrey Hepburn

    ReplyDelete
  7. Why does it make me feel better that you almost forgot the note card party? Maybe the old "misery likes company" adage applies here. I am the kind of person who must write everything down if I am to even have hope of remembering it. My lists are my brain.

    Loved your story about the recipe your mom made! I suppose our memories remember things to be even better than they were. I think that is probably a good thing.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Poor Susy! What a week.

    I never get the same results even when using a recipe...must be my take it or leave it approach...so I have no expectations. LOL

    ReplyDelete
  9. Love all your shout outs! Are you going to mow that lawn? You'll need that Arnold Palmer and the treats for sure unless you have a riding mower...

    ReplyDelete
  10. Vee, I must tell you, you have some of the nicest ladies following you. I am meeting them through the Note Card Party. What a wonderful idea that was. I enjoy it so much. xo (I have been disappointed by recipes, new and old.)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Our family tends to be repeat story tellers too.
    I try to remember only the good recipes and forget the ones that were a flop.
    Hope you have more sunshine .....

    ReplyDelete
  12. Aha. So you do have sunshine today.

    So...will you ever make peanut chews again? I was thinking of giving Jill's recipe a trial run. Hmmm. I made Nutella rice krispee treats yesterday for the grands. They were a hit!

    Enjoy the sunshine!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Will I make them again? You betcha. The next time I need a big batch of something to take somewhere else! They are terrific and better the second day than the first.

    ReplyDelete
  14. The stories of recipe memories are wonderful. Mine has to be that our son always talked about the Swedish meatballs I made every year for holiday appetizers. I made them a few years ago and they weren't as tasty as he remembered. He's married to a really great cook (the best!). He's spoiled now! I had to laugh because he was little when he ate those meatballs. He thought my cooking was terrific. It's amazing what kids will eat when they don't know better. When I was little, I fed my baby brother mudpies and told him they were vitamins. He never grew to like them. :-) Sorry, I can't share that recipe, but it's lost, too!!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Well, I'm about to head out the door, but had to stop and take a peek at what my blogging friends are up to. I might have known that you would have a tempting recipe here today. Just when I need to be outside instead of baking goodies inside! It looks and sounds so good and so tempting to try. But I'm going out the door. I am. Bye!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Cooking was never a big thing in my family. No one likes to cook. I have a few dessert recipes from my grandma and since I've been making them all along I still think they taste as good as then.
    I do like to bake more than cook so have more dessert recipes than meal recipes.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I got so carried away visiting the note card partiers that I nearly forgot to come back here and comment ;).
    There's always so many interesting things happening at your haven!! I do believe I've gained a few pounds just looking at your baked goods. These nut bars look delish.

    ReplyDelete
  18. You have made me so happy knowing you made the peanut chews and gave them a big thumbs up too. I totally agree...they are better the second and third day. I will make them with crunchy peanut butter in the future as the little crunchy peanut bits were my favorite part back in the days.

    My 32 year old son is now demanding a steady supply. I think I may have created a monster!

    ReplyDelete
  19. PS: you liked to the post with the pictures of the bars; the recipe and story was the post before that one, just in case anyone is looking to have the recipe...one cup of flower....:-)

    ReplyDelete
  20. what a fun story! and thank you for the
    yummy recipe. sometimes our memories
    are sweeter than the actual event.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Almost all of the recipes that were my favorites growing up... still taste as wonderfully good today. The one exception is my mother's Norwegian meatballs (okay... Swedish meatballs, but when you are born in Norway, they are definitely Norwegian!)... I'm getting sidetracked. I can't make them like she did... ever! Mine seem tough and hard, hers were moist and perfect. I try every Christmas though, and my sweet family keeps telling me how good they are. :)

    ReplyDelete
  22. A nice sunny chat! And interesting with all the directions it went!

    ReplyDelete
  23. I'll check out the story in a minute, but I did check out the photos...so beautiful!

    My grandma used to always say "that doesn't taste as good as it used to" - I think her taste buds had lost a bit of their ability to taste certain things...she once put so much sage into the Thanksgiving stuffing that it was green!

    Have a lovely day!

    Deanna

    ReplyDelete
  24. If I lived in your neighborhood, Vee, I might be tempted to stop by for a nibble of the goodies you're always whipping up.

    Many years ago, my husband and I had the most wonderful dinner and memorable evening at the Sooke Harbor Inn on Vancouver Island. It was such a serendipitous experience and a perfect time of an evening that I don't think it could happen twice. It will always be one of those special vacation memories.

    Thanks so much for your comments on my blog, Vee.

    ReplyDelete
  25. My sister got married last week and I was working on a recipe book of old family recipes to give her. I asked for recipes from my mother and wad digging through her ziplock bag of hand written recipes when I came across one that brought back a lot of memories. I'll have to give it a try before I share it with everyone. Thanks for the link. I may make up a few more recipe cards to give my readers.
    Hugs!

    ReplyDelete
  26. I can agree that now and then I make something from my mom's recipes that I just yawn at. I think we have in some ways kept improving recipes. There are some of those oldies though that are going to be made by many generations to come.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Just want to give a shout out, a hug, a high 5, a handshake, a pat on the back, some love and a good morning to you! Have a great weekend :)

    ReplyDelete

🕊
If comments disappear, please don't fret. A simple "hi" will do. The platform surely needs some maintenance.