I was listening to one of my podcasts recently (another pasttime that I have fallen way behind on) and she was talking about the interesting family history that can be gleaned from recipes, kitchens and food preparations. I have a pretty good memory of my grandmother's kitchen but absolutely no clear memory of the food she made for us when we visited. I have a couple of her recipes that my children like very much, but not much memory of the actual meals she prepared when I was a child.
James was able to describe your grandmother's kitchen with some surprising detail considering James' memory bank--this is not a slam on him, it's just that these kinds of details usually escape his attention. He doesn't recall that your grandmother had a recipe book or collection of recipes--is this the case? One of the restaurants in Erie offered polenta so James ordered it and told Amy and Michael polenta stories. This is one way such food memories get shared and passed down. It isn't all about the written recipe books!
While we were in Erie, Amy bought one of our meals for us. I believe this is the first time this happened and it feels like she's taken another step toward adulthood. It was a little hard to accept her offer, but I knew it was important to do so. I remember the first time I bought my parents their meal in a restaurant and I felt so grown up and responsible. That I remember that to this day is an indicator of the impact of that small act. Providing your parents their meal either by preparing it yourself or in a restaurant is a rite of passage that creates those food related memories and lend to the telling of the family story.
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