Week Twenty-Two: Your Recipes

Do you have a favorite recipe that you are famous for? Is there a favorite recipe that's been handed down through the generations? This week, take some time to write about a recipe (or several) that has significance in your household or family. Here are some things to consider:

*If there is a history to this recipe, write about it. Did it come from the Old Country, or was it printed in a favorite cookbook or local newspaper?

*Is there a funny (or sad) story that relates to this recipe, either in preparing it or eating it?

*What sort of memories does preparing or eating this particular food bring out? Are there particular cooking utensils, mixing bowls, serving dishes, aprons, hot pads, furniture (kitchen table), appliances (old cooking stoves, porcelain sinks) that come to mind when you remember this recipe?

*Do you have any photos of your family eating this, or someone preparing it? Do any particular conversations come to mind?

*How has the recipe changed over the years? What sorts of alternate ingredients or preparations have been made? Why?

*Does anyone still make this recipe? Why or why not?

These questions can pertain to a whole group of family recipes or just one in particular. Here are some recent blog posts that inspired this post:

• When Is Raspberry Jam NOT Just Raspberry Jam? by Pat Richley of DearMYRTLE, Your Friend in Genealogy (she also wrote the next two titles)
• Raspberry Jam II
• Raspberry Jam III
• Carnival of Genealogy, 16th Edition: Food and Family Recipes - many family recipes and memories shared here by various bloggers, including myself

Besides what I wrote for the Carnival of Genealogy, I have posted a couple of recipes, for my famous spaghetti and Peach Dessert, at my personal blog, &Etc.

Consider creating a family cookbook with favorite recipes and ancestral or family photographs. They make great Christmas gifts or fundraisers at family reunions. Many can be self published for a low cost using your own printer, or a printing business such as Kinko's, Office Depot, Staples, Costco, etc.

Week Twenty: Your Reads

I've been feeling a bit in a rut, so I decided to do some random prompts, instead of staying on what might be more obvious topics. Today's prompt is "Your Reads."

*When you were growing up, what magazines, newsletters, or newspapers were in your home on a regular basis, either purchased from a newstand, or subscribed to by mail? Were any of them children's publications?

*What are your memories about those publications? Were they interesting, entertaining or boring? Was there a magazine you didn't get that you wished you did? Why?

*As an adult, what publications did you subscribe to or purchase regularly in the past? Why did you choose them? Why did you stop purchasing them?

*What magazines, newsletters, or newspapers do you currently read, and why? What other ones would you read if you could?

*What publications do others in your household read? What have the others read or subscribed to in the past?

*Have you ever had your writings (or art) published in a magazine or newsletter? If so, write about that/those experience(s).

*Have you ever wondered what your ancestors read? Do you ever wonder what (and how) your descendants will read? Blogging has changed the world!