Food & Family

No recipes today. Just a few quick stories.  Today I celebrate a woman who welcomed me into her family within moments of meeting me for the first time. A woman who cried tears of joy when Jeremy and I announced our engagement at Thanksgiving dinner at her house. A woman who a lot of people are missing right now. Rest in peace Grandma Marge.

A lot of my memories right now seem to involve food. I think that's because all great family events and holidays seem to always have a strong food component. 

The first time I met Marge and my mother in law Suzi - we met for lunch. I stressed for hours about the right outfit and what I would say that wouldn't make me look like a buffoon. Do I remember most of what happened that day? Heck no! I remember Marge sitting across from me asking me questions and pestering the waitress about exactly what was in every dish and thinking she was hungry then not and changing her mind quite a bit. I even remember she got the appetizer sampler because I couldn't imagine she would eat it all but she insisted that's what she wanted. Guess who got to take 2/3 of it home at the end of the dinner date because she didn't eat it and knew it would go to waste if she took it home.

Remember that happy tears Thanksgiving I mentioned earlier? Another great memory ... especially for those of you who know how much I struggle to find Turkey Day food I actually eat. I loved going to Grandma's house for dinner because she made her noodles.  Nothing made me happier than having turkey, Grandma's noodles and Grandpa's scalloped corn (courtesy of Aunt Judy). In fact, I'd always go back for multiple helpings. As I sit here and think about it, I wonder why I never asked her how she made them - it would be a great addition to my cooking skills.

My mom came up with a great idea for my bridal shower that my new family carried over into their shower as well. Everyone brought a recipe for me to start my recipe box. I've got some great ones including Marge's Meatloaf. Though, my friend Julie and I laughed as I read it and Marge shouted out about how I needed to know she was not the Marge in question. It was a family friend, I think, and though it wasn't her personal recipe, it was one of the family favorites.

In recent years, we did less cooking at Grandma's house and more going out to eat. That was always an adventure as Grandma could never decide what she wanted. She also had to ask the poor waitress a million questions about the menu. When she finally decided what she wanted, she almost never ate even half of it and usually sent home the leftovers with us. That's just Grandma Marge!

All in all, we're pretty lucky. We both had really great grandparents that love us very much. I imagine they're all hanging out together now, watching over the whole crazy lot of us. Marge had more than her fair share of health issues, so I do firmly believe she's finally at peace. That doesn't make the loss any less as there are so many of us still here that will miss her dearly as she was one of a kind.

Hug your loved ones a little tighter and tell someone what they mean to you. Make your favorite dish or maybe a loved one's favorite dish. Food and family go hand in hand.