… She did prepare food every day, three times a day, faithfully, for 36 years. She never complained, never rebelled. And never failed to produce great meals everyone looked forward to. Now that she’s gone, we’re all a little poorer…
Mom was born on this date on a farm in Elgin, Scotland in 1924. Her family came to Canada in 1927, when she was still a toddler. They settled a section of land just outside Roblin Manitoba – a thankyou from the Canadian government under the Soldier Settlement Act of 1927, designed to provide employment and a new homeplace to Canadian and Commonwealth military members who came home from the First World War with no property or prospects.
Mom first attended a 4-room ‘town school’ in Roblin, and later attended high school in Winnipeg, where she and her mother moved when her dad re-enlisted in the Canadian Army during the Second World War.
It was in high school that she received her first formal education in cooking. I still have her old, tattered copy of Theory and Practice in House-hold Science, the universal textbook in Win-nipeg Schools then, in what my generation called Home Economics. Many of my favourite recipes come from that ancient and venerable tome. Others came from Mom’s recipe card collection. And many of Mom’s were handed down to her by her Mom…
Carrying on the tradition…
I’m carrying on that tradition as best I can by sharing with you my Mom’s and Grandma’s favourite recipes. The ones I grew up with and still love.
An important note: All of these recipes share one thing in common which makes them perfect for resurrecting today. Virtually none included any kind of processed, let alone ultra-processed foods, in their ingredient lists. There was a good reason for that. Processed foods were a rarity at that time. And most folks couldn’t afford them, anyway. But the Second World War marked a turning point in how Western Society viewed and thought about cooking.
Mom taught me to cook her (and Grandma’s) way. And I never tasted processed foods until I was elementary school age. Even then, I can count on the fingers of one hand the PFs I was exposed to: Peanut Butter, French’s Mustard, Hot Dogs, and SPAM…
Celebrating a classic
Mom loved food – and eating – her whole life. My stepdad relieved her of daily cooking duties when he donned the toque of ‘Amateur Chef’ in his retirement. And she was glad to let him.
The world has changed a lot since Mom was in high school. Even since I first starting learning how to cook. Even stepdad referred to Mom’s ‘cook book’ and her high school ‘master reference’ from time to time. He loved traditional, authentic recipes…
My take
I’ve never abandoned the preference for fresh, basic ingredients that she instilled in me. It pains me to discover that fresh produce and unprocessed grain products such as flour, bran and cracked wheat – which cost mere pennies or were grown at home when I was kid – have become some of the most expensive foods on the market today.
I can understand that many folks – especially the younger generations – are too busy at multiple jobs just trying to make ends meet to worry too much cooking. And the ‘convenience’ ethic has deeply infected our 21st century mindset.
But I still ask myself “WWMD?” (“What Would Mom Do?”) when I set out to cook anything. Even a simple Tea Biscuit – which Mom and Grandma always referred to as ‘little scones’. The traditions remain unbroken down through countless decades, through the distaff side of my family.
Mom passed away earlier this year at the fine old age of 100. Her tired, old 4ft. 11 in. frame could simply carry her no further. Stepdad predeceased her by 15 years with prostate cancer.
Both gone, but forever with me…
~ Maggie J.