I have recently inherited my Mom’s recipe box. It is the box that sat on top of the refrigerator in the kitchen of every house we lived in. The decoration on the outside of this metal box looks like a 1960s MOD interpretation of an Art Deco floral pattern. The background is black; the flowers are red, blue, orange, yellow and white. The inside holds the larger sized index cards. I can tell that my Mom must have bought it in a fit of organization, as the very back of the box is packed full of extra, blank cards.
Most of the cards are in either her handwriting or my sister’s. I think that I have identified the very last recipe card she ever wrote. It is stuffed into the front of the box, out of order. Extra large cursive letters reveal that she was losing her eye site at the end. Only the name of the recipe, a list of ingredients, time, and temperature are listed. It is for her favorite dessert, custard, the ultimate nursery comfort food.
As I continue to search through the box, I realize that its contents reflect the many phases of her life. There are diet recipes, party recipes, recipes from aunts, recipes that I can remember her making (mostly cookies or gooey desserts), and recipes that I can’t imagine her ever attempting—crepes? I study each card carefully to see if it reveals anything about the occasion she made it for, but I can’t find any comments beyond “very good” or “from Pat’s Party.”
It seems time to give her recipes an airing and to give them the attention they deserve. The recipes below are all appropriate for the warm summer months ahead. As all of the recipes that bear my sister’s signature suggest: Enjoy!
Sweet and Sour Bean Salad
2 cans green beans
1 can garbanzo beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can pimento, diced
1 red onion, peeled and sliced into rings
1 clove garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup tarragon vinegar
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
Black pepper to taste
Drain and rinse beans. Combine with pimento and red onion. Crush garlic into salt. Combine with vinegars, sugar, vegetable oil and black pepper in glass jar. Cover and shake until well blended. Pour over salad and marinate overnight. KM NOTE: Try this with fresh green beans that have been blanched. Use a really large jar and add the salad ingredients into the dressing. Cover and refrigerate. Great for a picnic.
