Submitted by E. M. McCreight (grandchild No. 1), Springfield, Virginia Every September, when the garden overflowed with tomatoes and green peppers, my German-born grandmother would gather the family, including us seven grandchildren, for a dinner of homemade “sacumpach.” We kids picked out the best parts of the casserole (does anyone like green peppers as a…
The Family Table: A Grandmother’s Legacy of Love, Home Cooking, and Coffee Cake Mornings
Submitted by Terese Luikens, Sandpoint, Idaho For the first eight years of my life, I lived near my grandma and enjoyed partaking in the feasts she served for memorable holiday meals. Uncles, aunts, and cousins sat shoulder-to-shoulder around tables laden with tender beef roasts, smooth brown gravy, fluffy mashed potatoes, and always a choice of cream…
The Family Table: Summer Memories of an Italian-American Jersey Farm Girl
Submitted by Eleanor Rodio Furlong, Naples, Florida I’m a Jersey girl. I’m a farm girl. I’m an Italian American girl. I grew up on a family farm in a small town in rural southern New Jersey. I was the youngest of eight children born to Carlo and Frances Rodio. My mother was 41. Nick, my…
The Family Table: Mennonite Favorites From ‘Where Neighbors Are Neighborly’
Submitted by Susan Musselman, North Carolina When I was very young, we lived in a farm community with many Mennonite families. We were not Mennonite, but my grandmother had come from a Mennonite family. I didn’t know what a blessing this was until I moved away and got culture shock. In that farm community, people…
Cooking With Grandmothers Around the World
Anastasia Miari’s grandmother’s entire day revolves around food. In her 80s, she lives on the beautiful Greek island of Corfu, where she still makes her own olive oil and wine. “My grandmother is one of those people who have always eaten seasonally,” said Miari, a UK-based author and journalist, chatting with me on the phone…
The Family Table: A Recipe ‘Stained From Cherry Juice and Frequent Use’
Submitted by Charlene Hornick, Eugene, Oregon This cherry cake recipe was written on a 3-by-5-inch card in my mother’s recipe box, stained from cherry juice and frequent use. This is a family favorite, passed from my grandmother to my mother. No one knows the origin. It was served to guests about 60 percent of the…
Iced Tea, 2 Ways
Growing up, I knew about sun tea from my books. I loved reading how my characters—mainly old-fashioned, romantic, Midwestern ones—steeped tea in the heat of the sun on their back porches, then served it in beautiful glass containers. I imagined sitting on a porch swing overlooking miles of cornfields, sipping on iced sun tea while…
Sun or Stovetop? Iced Tea, 2 Ways
Growing up, I knew about sun tea from my books. I loved reading how my characters—mainly old-fashioned, romantic, Midwestern ones—steeped tea in the heat of the sun on their back porches, then served it in beautiful glass containers. I imagined sitting on a porch swing overlooking miles of cornfields, sipping on iced sun tea while…
The Family Table: Grandpa’s Famous, Fail-Proof Blueberry Pancakes
Submitted by Stephen A. Sands (aka Grampa Steve), Edmonton, Alberta, Canada “Are you going to make your blueberry pancakes, Grandpa?” That’s a familiar question when our family gathers together on Sundays or for special occasions. You might get the impression that the question is only asked at special events, when in fact, it has been requested whenever…
The Family Table: My Father’s ‘Red Gold’
Submitted by James L. Casale, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida “Red gold” is a term I have always used to describe my father’s incomparable marinara sauce. He did most of the cooking in our household because my mother didn’t get home until 6:30 p.m. each night. She was usually exhausted from her 12-hour days commuting to…
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