Welcome to my genealogy blog. Ancestors I Wish I Knew is a combination of genealogical information and stories about individuals in my family tree. The focus is on those from my Cochrane, Eitelbach, Merrett, Minarcik and Richards lines and their descendants.

Friday, January 26, 2018

#113--Sunday Dinner at Nana's




This week’s Challenge theme is dinner.  So many ways to go with this.  I considered blogging about a person I would like to invite to diner-- that would give me a chance to ask a lot of questions and fill in some blank spots.  However, since the person would not be there, I would get no answers.  Then, I thought about Sunday dinners.  Dinner on Sunday with your family seems to be a tradition that no longer exists.  But it did when I was growing up, so I decided to write about Sunday dinners.

When I was a child, every Sunday we had dinner with my grandmother, Regina Eitelbach.  Nana lived about 30 minutes away so we drove and spent the day.  I did not realize it at the time, but she was an outstanding cook.  Anything Nana made was always delicious. She always made a full meal and served it on her best china.  I remember my father carving the meat, the bowls of vegetables and potatoes on the table.  However, what I remember best is dessert.    Nana’s deserts were the highlight of the meal--apple pie, lemon meringue pie, chocolate layer cake with chocolate frosting, shadow layer cake, and yellow cake with coconut frosting.  At Christmas, Nana made butter cookies with a cookie press, rolled and frosted cookies as well as German leubkeuken. 

Sometimes when I visited, Nana and I would bake, usually cupcakes.  I loved to frost those cupcakes in all kinds of colored frosting.  The blues ones were my favorites, and I thought tasted the best. I have some of her recipes, but I have not been too successful in making them.  While I know that butter the size of an egg is a quarter of a cup, 2 cups of flour and enough more so it feels right is beyond me.  I have no idea what it should feel like.  Unfortunately Nana died before I was really old enough for her to teach me how to bake. 

I would love to talk to Nana again.  I would ask her how she learned to cook and bake, and what some of her favorite recipes were.  I think I also would ask for a lesson on baking.

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