My Mother’s Cookbooks Blog, Relaunch!

Hey, friends and family! I am pleased to announce the relaunch of My Mother’s Cookbooks blog beginning Saturday, 7 September 2024 with the first installment of a multipart series called Atlantic Canadian Women of the Cloth – homebased textile producers: 19th century and beyond. This series will cover many of the familiar as well asContinue reading “My Mother’s Cookbooks Blog, Relaunch!”

Christmas stockings, a potato and lemon nut loaf

My first Christmas stockings were Dad’s socks repurposed for the night. Don’t get me wrong I was not disadvantaged nor was I unusual, it was the 1960’s, and my parents believed Santa was not really what Christmas was about. Despite that, in the weeks leading to Christmas eve, I heard reminders about Santa’s naughty listContinue reading “Christmas stockings, a potato and lemon nut loaf”

Cranberry Croissants, holiday traditions, and change…

Recently, as I was planning the last bit of baking effort for this Holiday season, I encountered an old list tucked in to a book of recipes. In my dear Mother’s hand, the list carefully laid out the holiday baking she planned. One of the recipes, is one I recognized from the early years ofContinue reading “Cranberry Croissants, holiday traditions, and change…”

Plum pudding, Cook Scows, and Bake Ovens.

Cast iron cookware seems everywhere at the moment, although only skillets and frying pans and not the large pots, bake – ovens1 (aka Dutch Ovens) and utensils once common in households. Cast iron cookware retains heat wonderfully, and provided it is properly seasoned is non stick2! Although the newly manufactured variety come pre-seasoned, many peopleContinue reading “Plum pudding, Cook Scows, and Bake Ovens.”

Apples, Cider and Bettys?

A quick drive thru rural areas of Canada’s Maritime provinces reveals countless abandoned homesteads. Some with remnants of buildings, houses, barns, etc. others are marked by trees, apple trees. Despite filling the spring air with their glorious blossoms these wild apples are mostly, small, sour, and unpalatable. You could be forgiven for thinking apples areContinue reading “Apples, Cider and Bettys?”

Fanny’s Frugal Food Hacks

Fat Fancy… the benefits and techniques of collecting and reusing bacon fat. It wasn’t that Fanny was mean or miserly she just couldn’t afford to be wasteful. For Fanny wasting food now, meant going hungry later. Fanny had the ‘know how’ to assure maximum benefit from food which entered her kitchen. She didn’t really haveContinue reading “Fanny’s Frugal Food Hacks”

The Sea, food, chowder…and the Scots

If you were in our home at mealtime you were invited to stay…and many folks did. It was the way in Mum’s family home growing up in rural New Brunswick, and it was a practice she and my father honored the whole of their lives. Saying that everyone is welcome at my table is oneContinue reading “The Sea, food, chowder…and the Scots”

Cookies, biscuits and cookie power!

Many of us have happy memories of cookies and the special cooks who made them, my husband included. For most of the last 32 years I have been hearing about “Mrs Bowers” and her molasses biscuits. The warm and special memories Ray has of this kind and caring soul are a child’s memories. During theContinue reading “Cookies, biscuits and cookie power!”

My Mother’s Cookbooks and How We Got Here Genealogy…

Happy to share this link, of my conversation with Brian Nash from How We Got Here Genealogy for Atlantic Canadians in The food that made our Ancestors great, webcast on Youtube. Brian and I discuss how I became involved in genealogy and in blogging about My Mother’s Cookbooks. We chat food, its role in familyContinue reading “My Mother’s Cookbooks and How We Got Here Genealogy…”