While I didn’t start the pickling yesterday, I did look for the recipe. I was in a panic for a bit because I couldn’t find it in my recipe box. It was somewhere around here as I had made them before, but just couldn’t find it. I finally remembered that I kept my dad’s old recipes in his box and searched through that one. It took a couple attempts before I found it – right at the front. That deserved the forehead smack I gave myself.
I did finish my laundry and most of my packing for our trip this weekend, but still have a bit more to do. I need to finish packing and deep water the garden since I’m not asking my neighbor to stop by this time.
Going through the two recipe boxes, I found several from years past I had mostly forgotten. One is a “cheap steak” marinade from a pub in Seattle that I would frequent when I lived there. Another is for a creamy shrimp with focaccia dish from Ram Brewery – also from when I lived in the Seattle area. One is from a funeral I directed, and that has its own story.
Voices from beyond…
This is the story of the recipe for Virgil’s Chicken Dish. Now I never met Virgil, alive that is, but his family had stories. At gatherings and potlucks, he’d always bring a signature chicken dish that people would compliment. He was frequently asked for the recipe, and each time Virgil would reply, “over my dead body.” Apparently just before he passed, he gave the coveted recipe to a family member, and they decided to share it at his funeral.
They didn’t just make it and serve it at the reception. No, they shared it under Virgil’s conditions – over his dead body. They had me print it on the back of the memorial folder – those handouts at funerals with information about the deceased – and gave it out to everyone who attended. I still have one of the folders in my recipe box.
Those were the funerals and types of families I most enjoyed working with. They truly embraced the Celebration of Life gathering rather than an overly somber funeral. I have plenty of stories I can share but that will be another time.
Something like a recipe…
Now about my own recipe box – it was a gift from my wife. Her family had a tradition of drawing names and making a handmade gift for that person for Christmas. If her grandfather drew your name, you could expect an amazing piece of hand crafted woodwork. He made a beautiful fruit bowl for my wife one year, and the year he drew my name I received a wonderful wooden chest that we keep our treasured mementos from our life and travels. We add to it nearly every trip we take.
My wife drew my name one year and at first was stumped – giving me gifts is often difficult because I usually just buy what I want or need. Well, she figured out the perfect gift: a recipe box filled with my mom’s “secret” recipes. My wife colluded with my mother to collect all the “mom food” recipes I grew up with and presented them to me in a nice purple recipe box. I have made several of the dishes over the years and they do hit the mark.
So that is the story of how my own recipe box got started. It got me taking and writing down measurements and instructions for some of my own dishes. It is also how I discovered that my mother was still taking credit for my idea of mixing both red and green sauce for enchiladas. I guess you can’t trust anyone these days.
I played around with a couple recipe plugins for the site and will likely be sharing some down the line. Probably even Virgil’s Chicken Dish.
Oh, and a bunny got past my fence and into my garden area yesterday:
Anyhow, I have to finish packing and move the water in the garden…
Song of the day: Medicated Goo by Traffic
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