Previous generations were eating farm to table meals as a way of life. Memories and recipes those recipes continue on family tables today! If you’ve ever worked on a farm, you probably have a deep appreciation for where food comes from (and the rest of us owe you a debt of gratitude!). Growing vegetables and other crops is not easy! Kay Bissette from Raleigh, North Carolina, grew up in a farming family and was enjoying farm-to-table meals way before it became trendy. Corn was a staple in her family’s fields and on their dinner table. One particular dish became a Bissette family favorite: “I grew up in the country, outside…

Is it butter or margarine? What was on your family table at mealtime? Are your memories accurate or do your mealtime memories need correcting? Mealtimes look a bit different in every household. Each family has their own unique habits and customs that practically become second nature. In fact, it can be quite easy to forget that not everyone serves and eats the way we do! Have you ever gone to a friend’s or family member’s house for a meal and seen something unfamiliar on the table? Is It Butter Or Margarine? Melissa Barker (AKA The Archive Lady) from Houston County, Tennessee, has been there! She shares this fun memory with…

Food memories lead to the sharing of family history. Meals and foods eaten with loved ones sparks fond memories of earlier generations. Some of the best food memories revolve around the people we cooked and ate with. We may not remember every bite, but we remember who was there and how we felt. Sometimes we associate foods with specific people in our lives. Maybe your grandmother always offered cheese and crackers to her guests, or your favorite teacher handed out Tootsie Rolls as rewards for good behavior. Now, when you see, smell, or taste that one familiar food, you immediately think of that special person. This is certainly true for…

Family recipes create special memories and can be wonderful keepsakes when documented for future generations. Some food memories stick with us from childhood. Even if we don’t have written recipes, we remember seeing foods prepared in certain ways by our friends and family members. If one step is skipped or an ingredient is changed, we can tell it’s not the “real deal” we remember. The little details can make all the difference. Patricia from Westford, Massachusetts, knows this to be true. She remembers the particular way her mother would prepare cucumbers to be transformed into delicious pickles: “My own food memory is simple fresh pickles. My mother always scored thecucumbers…

Many of us learned to cook from our family members. Cooking is a great bonding opportunity, and a chance to pass recipes down to younger generations of budding chefs. Ashley from Ossining, New York, grew up cooking alongside her grandparents. Here, she shares two favorite recipes that remind her of them. Dutch Apple Pie “Many of my fondest childhood memories take place in my grandma’s kitchen in Leo, Indiana. When I was a kid I would spend a lot of time with her and my grandpa. They both enjoyed being in the kitchen and really helped to nurture my enthusiasm for cooking and baking. I remember making “soup” for them…