Nostalgia for Old Recipes
Early in 2000, I started to realize that many of my mother's generation, on whose phenomenal cooking I grew up, will soon not be around to follow.
Theirs was a different world of cooking;
-Some cookbooks but mostly sharing handwritten recipes. In many cases, the name of the recipe was the name of the woman from whom it was received.
-Cooking technics changed tremendously with the availability of electric types of equipment like food processors, hi-speed mixing devices, electric and gas easy-to-use ovens, and cooking burners.
-Short and long-term refrigeration available in every home.
-Availability of ingredients.
-Cost of ingredients (add substitute to replace more expensive items).
add more diferenes here...............
So, I approached several older family members and to my great joy they agreed and were more than happy to give me their old notebooks and single-page notes. A common reaction was: "Oh I am too old to cook, and I don't think my children will want it".
Well - I wanted it !
I also asked my two close cousins whose moms passed away by that time, and I was hoping to borrow their mothers' books.
Both answered me very sadly:
Edna said: "my mother became almost blind during her later years and one day, out of frustration not being able to see her own handwriting, threw it away".
Rochdale said: "My mother's 2nd husband's 3rd wife through it out".
Just recently, (2021) I asked my sister-in-law, Dafna, if she had her mother's, my mother-in-law, recipes and she said: "It was written in Bulgarian, which I can't read so I threw it away"
I am sorry she did, if for nothing else to preserve her handwriting.
Finally, I was able to collect notes from 7 women (list here).
My maternal grandma - Zevia
My aunt - Lulu
A close relative from the Green Family side - Marika
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and finally, most dear and important to me - my mom's שתבדל לחיים ארוכים who will be 99 in April 2019 (in 2 months)!!!!! (note on 11/22/2021, my mother sadly, since passed away at age 100 and 6 months on Dec. 1, 2020)
Then, I faced the biggest challenge of this project. ALL THE RECIPES WERE HANDWRITTEN IN HUNGARIAN.
I understand Hungarian and speak quite fluently, but could not read or understand the handwritten Hungarian.
I had to get help for translations. and I did.
I will add the source and the translator's name next to each recipe that will follow this section, which I call "Recipe Nostalgia"