Flavors of Home

Click here to honor a family cook with a Skillet Diary™  memory.

                                                                              

Photo of 2 cakes, 2 cookbooks and Skillet Diary logo

 

 

 

Each time a good cook dies without passing down recipes, family dishes become suddenly lost forever.~Unknown

This photograph of pound cakes cooling on a rack in front of treasured recipe collections represents three generations of family cooks: my grandmother, my mother and me.

We Remember Mama was dedicated to our grandmother, Mama Williams, by my mom (her daughter) and Mom’s sisters the Christmas after she died. I wrote the dedication to the  We Remember Mama edition my sister, Muriel, reprinted the Christmas after our mother’s funeral.

“This 2003 printing of “We Remember Mama” (originally printed in 1983) is dedicated to our mother, Muriel Roberta Williams Battle, who passed away March 2, 2003, leaving behind a family deeply appreciative for the way she insisted on feeding us literally…with wonderful family recipes…and spiritually…by teaching us to dream big dreams, love deeply and make definitive plans to leave the world better behind us.”

Skillet Diaries™ is Dedicated to Family Cooks Everywhere
During our family’s sad 2003 holiday season, this Skillet Diaries™ cookbook project was born from the regret that came after realizing no one had ever written down our family’s traditional praline recipe. Until her sudden death, there always seemed to be plenty of time to stand at my mother’s side recording directions for the Creole candy her mother had learned from her grandmother.

SkilletDiaries.com™ Helps Family Cooks Save Recipes

You’re invited to be among the first to join our Skillet Diary™ cookbook community of cooks where we’re planning cookbook and video connections to help you save family recipes for future generations. Please use the forms on the right to register and feel free to begin sharing recipes with the Skillet Diary™ Cookbook Community by entering recipes in the e-mail form below the registration. Thank you for joining us here. We’re looking forward to answering your comments and notes. Join us on Facebook to watch our gallery of old cookbooks grow.

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Sample An Historic Cookbook

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Sample a Family Cookbook

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For Mothers Everywhere…

Poem for "Flavors of Home" by Donna Pierce

Flavors of Home

by Donna Pierce


 
 

For moms who drive carpools

and moms who coach teams.

For moms who believe in

and nurture young dreams.

For moms of adults,

and mommies with tots.

For stay-at-home mothers

and those who do not.

For moms who can’t rest

with new babies at home.

And those sleep deprived

on nights teenagers roam.

For moms who are strict

and to those known for lenience.

For moms who cook daily

or choose drive-through convenience.

For moms who choose kids,

and those babies are born to.

For step-moms, grandmothers

and all others who come through….

with promises kept for

a lifelong commitment

to open your heart

and keep kids safe within it.

Thanks for meatloaf and gravy

and poppy seed cake.

Thanks for beans…red and navy

and biscuits that flake.

Thanks for grits and polenta

and soups left to simmer.

Thanks for family occasions…

cousins invited to dinner.

Thanks for blueberry pancakes

and strawberry pie.

Thanks for turkey and dressing,

loaves flavored with rye.

Thanks for collard greens

cooked

with a small dash of bacon.

Thanks for chicken soup, orange juice

and broths to sooth aching.

Thanks for corn on the cob

and red peppers, roasted.

Huckleberries, persimmons

and marshmallows, toasted.

Thanks for tender beef brisket

velvet cakes colored red.

Thanks for bagels, injera

and other great bread.

Thanks for couscous and sushi

and sweetened ice teas.

Thanks for tacos, tamales

and pasta with peas.

Thanks for burgers with mustard

and baked macaroni,

Thanks for salsa and ketchup

and thick minestrone.

Thanks for chocolate chip

cookies

and blackberry jam.

Thanks for Boston Cream Pie

and Boone County ham.

Thanks for strawberry

smoothies,

grape juice and punch.

Thanks for butterscotch sundaes

and grilled cheese for lunch.

Thanks for chicken pot pie

and fried green tomatoes.

Thanks for Kosher dill pickles

and mashed Irish potatoes.

Thanks for stir fries and French fries

and onion rings, too.

Thanks for tandoori chicken,

poi and venison stew.

Thanks for waking up early

to bake cinnamon rolls

Thanks for slice-and-bake cookies

and s’mores over coals.

Thanks for big feasts for dozens

and snacks all alone.

Thanks for seasoning my life

with the flavors of home.

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