Now, anyone who knows me and my family knows that for all of us grandkids, the dish my Grandma is most remembered for is her crepes. Every single time we spent the night at her house, we would unfailingly wake up in the morning to crepes (at our request, of course).
Our favorite was always cinnamon and sugar, but we would experiment with other toppings like peanut butter, jam, or cheese. In the end, though, the cinnamon was always the best and we would eat it until we felt sick.
My Grandma cooked for us out of total love, but I don't think she realized two things were going to happen from it:
1. She was giving us a little bit of culture. To us, crepes were so familiar that I couldn't believe later on how many people didn't know what they were. Just like any building block you give a child, crepes were a building block for an entire world of cuisine for me!
2. She created a family legend/ tradition. I was challenged as soon as I could to begin making crepes for anyone special who happened to spend the night at my house. My recipe is different from my Grandma's- just as it should be since cooking is a very personal art. If you learned to draw from a grandparent, would you copy their drawings exactly? I don't think so. This was a great example of "the older women teaching the younger women" to take care in the kitchen.
So thanks, Grandma, for the memories. You gave me a tangible, taste-able, and smellable way of remembering my younger years, and the genuine love you showed for me and my cousins. I love you.....oh, and can I spend the night some time?
1 comment:
Nothing brings my Gran back like the smell of broiled lamb chops. She taught me how to make them and a mean mashed potato. Once I learn to roast a chicken (well), I'll be complete!
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