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| Don and Gladys Wyckoff |
But the most unique gifts by far were the little captured times we shared together making something I'd never seen before. Grammy Wyckoff grew up in Kansas and moved to California as a married woman. Somewhere along that path, she learned to make Chicken Noodle Soup. On one of her rare trips to Boston, she spent a whole day making that soup with me. I couldn't have been more than 10 years old, but do you know, it was probably one of the most important gifts she ever gave me. I still make that soup to this day. Granted, I might not spend the time hand making the egg noodles she carefully rolled out and hung around the kitchen. I do, however, make my own chicken stock from our roast chicken. When any of us come down with a cold or sore throat, it is the thing that makes the world right again.
Now, I might add, my mother comes to my house in London with full suitcases of joy. She tried to bring my children the treasured spray cheese from across the sea, but I had to put my foot down on that one. She muttered something about it being good enough for my grandmother to bring us .... But what my children want more than anything is time making bran and molasses bread or perhaps a batch of homemade cookies or two.
I've published the Grammy's Chicken Noodle Soup recipe in a separate blog post. Do try it, as I think it is a classic. http://www.lifeatmybench.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/chicken-noodle-soup.html
What is a favourite recipe one of your Grandparents taught you?
There are two. However they were taught to me by my mother rather than my Grandmother, but came from that grande old dame originally. The first is Seville Orange Marmalade which is still the best marmalade I've ever tasted and so superior to anything you can buy. The second is Rich Sherry Trifle, which is pretty much what it says. Happy memories of it being transported from my Grandmother's house in old ice-cream containers held snug in flat bottomed wicker baskets (I'd love those baskets now!) and it would be floating on a layer of sherry, so impossible to transfer to a pretty bowl, and thus the ice-cream container became table ware and all part of the trifle's charm. To re-create it exactly one needs Angelica for the decoration, but it's hard to find and Martyn's had sold out by the week before Christmas. Still good though...
ReplyDeleteI've been thinking of that amazing Orange Marmalade every time I see the Seville Oranges for sale in the market. I think we might need to do a blog post together for that. My American friends probably haven't made Marmalade and would love to see how it is done.
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