By Whitney Sutherland of Running with Whit
Gloria and Whitney Sutherland… when it comes to recipes, this apple didn’t fall far from the tree!
It is a fair to say that I learned how to cook and appreciate food from my awesome Mom! Growing up, I remember looking through her worn selection of recipes in the shoe box sized recipe box that she kept. The recipes within were on all different types of index cards. Some were written out in my mom’s handwriting, while others were just torn out magazine recipes taped to a card. Without fail, most of the cards in this box had a short note handwritten on the card and then the month/year that my mom had first prepared the recipe.
Even though there were 100’s of recipes within her recipe box, I still as a grown adult crave a few of my mom’s most signature dishes. As a kid, the most special meal of the year was always your birthday dinner because my mom would let you select your menu… mine usually was fajitas or meat loaf. For mom though, her extra special day and meal should be on Mother’s Day! It’s her chance to be pampered and spoiled! While you are spoiling mom, why not do so with her with her favorite recipe! With my mom now living in Arizona it is a little hard to cook for her but just the same I’ll be preparing one of her signature and favorite recipes this weekend =Taco Salad with homemade French dressing.
My mom received this dressing recipe in the late 60’s before she and my father were married. Her future mother-in-law connected her with a woman named Margaret Simpson who was living in California near where myNavy father was stationed . My mom went to visit my father and stayed with Mrs. Simpson. She still recalls that Mrs. Simpson introduced her to artichokes and avocados during that spring break trip. She also served her meals on fine china which began my mom’s love of china and a well set table. It’s true…my mom loves to have a beautifully set table for family meals and always includes a floral Ikebana arrangement!
This recipe can still be found in my mom’s recipe box. It is on a yellowed and stained index card in Mrs. Simpson’s handwriting. But much to my surprise this is one recipe that my mom forgot to write the date on! I hope you have a chance to spoil the mom’s in your life this weekend with some of their favorite recipes because sometimes the recipe is just so much better when it is made for you!
Whitney Sutherland blogs at Running with Whit about the fun and adventure of an everyday athlete. Whitney works full time playing with numbers and products and unwinds by training for races. She loves triathlons and has completed two half ironman distance races. She completes many races each year and initially discovered blogs while researching different races. Whitney spends her free time with Sidney her runner dog and her family where she gets to be the cool aunt to three awesome kiddos.
ecipe Card
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1 tablespoon. salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon celery seed
- 1 can tomato soup
- 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 cup salad oil
- Mix ingredients together until emulsified.
- Definition: Emulsify means combining two liquids together which normally don't mix easily. The ingredients are usually oil or a fat like olive oil or egg yolks, and another liquid like water or broth. Acidic liquids like lemon juice help the process by changing the pH of the mixture. The liquids are combined very slowly, usually drop by drop, while beating vigorously, which suspends drops of liquid throughout each other. Bearnaise, hollandaise, and mayonnaise are examples of emulsified foods.
- Pronunciation: ee MULL sih fi • (verb)
- Also Known As: blend
- Source: http://busycooks.about.com/library/glossary/bldefemulsify.htm
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Very happy to find a recipe for French dressing! Do you have suggestions on how to substitute for the can of soup? Thanks! 🙂
I remember making cranberry relish with my Mom for Thanksgiving every year growing up! Last year was the first time I hosted my own Thanksgiving and it was so special to have my Mom and sister here to carry on the tradition with my new family. 🙂
I wish my mom would write down some of her recipes. She tends to throw all the ingredients together and makes every recipe look easy. When I ask her for exact measurements, she uses words like a “pinch” or “about half a cup”. Or my favorite: “You’ll be able to tell” 🙂
I am in the middle of transcribing all of my mother’s recipes to electronic media…as you said, the originals are yellowed and, by extension, won’t last another couple of generations. Here’s an idea, wouldn’t it be an amazing project for the Arkansas Women’s Bloggers to assemble a cookbook containing “Mom’s Favorites” (re our favorites of mom’s recipes)…with pictures, of course? I know of very few people who do not have a “Mom’s Favorite”.
I have many hand-written recipes from my mom, but we never cooked together. Either she cooked or I did.
However, I love those old recipes, in her tight cursive, full of “cart-before-the-horse” Germanisms.
She was a professional baker and cake decorator, and I learned HOW to do many things in the kitchen, but did not learn the doing of it until I had my own kitchen. For instance, I knew what to put into a meatloaf, but not the measurements, nor the baking time. But I did have her pronouncement that I would someday make a great cook, which gave me tons of confidence in my culinary adventures.
When I was stumped, I would call her. It was grand. When she passed away, I still did not know everything I needed to know, but it was too late to learn from her, then.
And now my daughter calls me for the how-to’s. She told me early in life she did not want to learn how to cook. She said, “Mom, you taught me how to read–just get me a good cookbook.” I gave her The Joy, and let her make her own mistakes. She loves making new recipes…
I guess it’s a family tradition. 🙂
Perfectly good recipe for a perfectly good day. And we learned the true definition of a new word!