Tasting the Past

   

I don't know if anything can evoke nostalgia and a longing for the past like the taste of your mother's food. Tasting it brings back a flood of memories.

Jeri and I made one of my mothers old recipes – Cabbage, Kielbasa and Noodles with sour cream – for lunch and we nailed it. We've made it before but it's been a while. It has to be at least 25 to 30 years since my mother has made this dish. I never formally got the recipe but as I have said before, I paid attention when she cooked. It's not difficult to make. The challenge is to duplicate the taste of the past.

My mother never considered herself a great cook. I think she was a good cook with the things that she loved to eat. She sometimes made great dishes – like this cabbage and sausage dish – which I love. I don't know where she got the recipe from, maybe it was one that she saw in an old magazine or cookbook and adapted to her taste. She doesn't remember most of her old recipes any more and that saddens me more than I can say. Still I'm glad I paid attention.

As I was eating memories were filling my head. We will always miss the days when we were with our mother and father. Those days are gone but the food keeps the memories and the traditions alive.