Vanilla Pudding & Grandmother's Bowl: A Sentimental Weekday

On this second day of the 12 Days of Valentine's Day, I propose you make one of your grandmother's recipes and serve it in a vintage vessel. Vanilla pudding? Orange pie? Shrimp dip? What was something she was known for? I can think of nothing more wonderful than honoring her with a whirl in the kitchen.

Does this Pyrex display bring back memories? I spent a few hours at "America's Largest Antique & Collectible Show" at the Washington State Fairgrounds in Puyallup, WA last weekend. This beautiful collection of vintage Pyrex caught my eye. Are you a collector? I consider Pyrex a salute to the American kitchen and I love it all. I have a small collection and I regularly fight the urge to make it a bigger. (wink)

When I shared this photo on Instagram, several people chimed in that they treasure their grandmother's Pyrex bowl. Or pointed out in this picture, which one she had. I am sentimental and nothing makes me happier.

Today I am sharing my maternal grandmother's recipe for vanilla pudding and serving it in my solid aqua Pyrex bowl with lid (just like the one in this picture!). I make this pudding all the time (usually doubling the recipe) and it is a family favorite.

Vanilla Pudding 

2 egg yolks
1/4 c. sugar
2 T. cornstarch
2 c. milk
1 T butter (though it was written "a walnut size piece of butter)
1 t. vanilla

Put egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan. Stir together with a fork until well mixed. Pour in milk and stir. Turn on burner and cook, continuing to stir. When the mixture has thickened quite a bit, remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Fill 4 small ramekins with pudding and refrigerate. 

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Make an Heirloom While Preserving the Vintage Photograph

Every once in a while I make a little piece of art - this is a fabric pillow displaying a photograph of my maternal grandmother as a child.  Love the hair bow!  

The best part about this project is that I can scan the original image and then print it on a special printer fabric sheet (8.5 x 11) by June Tailor.  This creates something "new" for me to work with and leaves the vintage photo completely unharmed.

For this project, I machine stitch the photograph to a piece of coordinating calico fabric, then place another piece of fabric (the same size) against it. The two "right sides" of the pillow face each other.  Machine stitch along all four sides, leaving a 2-inch space to allow for stuffing.  Turn the pillow right side out.  Lightly press the fabric and photo to smooth out any wrinkles that happened from turning the fabric.  Stuff the pillow.  Hand stitch the 2 inch gap closed.  Hand sew a short cord onto the top (or trap it into the seam as you stitch the 4 sides closed), to hang the pillow.  Use Fabri-Tac to glue a decorative trim along the photo to create a frame. 

I have this hanging in my dining room on my china cabinet.  I love this sentimental touch in an unexpected place.

Talk to Strangers

Talk to strangers...they may have known your grandmother.  

I want to share with you an almost unbelievable coincidence.  I was waiting at the Delta gate in Detroit to fly to Florida, when I started chatting with a grandmother in a wheelchair near by.  She was travelling alone and in the course of conversation she told me that she was 92-years-old. She said that she had already had a long day, because the first leg of her trip had been traveling by car to the airport from Mount Clemens (a town about an hour away).

When I remarked that my grandmother had been from Mount Clemens, she got a hopeful look and asked me, "What was her name?"

"Helen Held"

Well my new friend just about fell over.  "Helen Held!  Helen Held," she couldn't believe it.  "I lived across the street from Helen!"

I couldn't believe it either.  I immediately thought of the house on Gary Road that I spent so much of my life visiting.  Baking Christmas cookies.  Hunting for Easter baskets. Eating grilled cheese sandwiches with homemade pickles.  If it was Sunday, we often said "Let's go ride over to Nama's."

But my mind was called front and center when she said, "Oh, we used to love watching Wilber come pick Helen up for a date."

Wilber?!  A date?  Suddenly we are reminiscing about when my grandfather was courting my grandmother in 1930.  1930. 

She said things like, "Oh, she was a beautiful dresser." and, "She wore high heels!"  She said that she and her sister were about 8 and 10 years old at the time and that they were "fascinated" when my grandmother left the house all dressed up for a date.  She was sharing memories from eighty two years ago.  She said, "I can't wait to tell my sister!"  They talk every day.         

I still can't believe it.  Can you believe it?  My grandmother lived to be 89 and it has been far too long since I have been able to talk to her.  

I joked with my new friend that Nama must be up in heaven urging us to, "Say Mount Clemens. One of you say Mount Clemens. You both know me!"  Whatever she did, it worked.  Not a beat after she said Mount Clemens, I mentioned Nama and we found our connection.  When we said our goodbyes, she held my hand and said, "You're just as beautiful as your grandmother."

Have you found yourself chatting with a stranger lately?  You never know what will come to light.

Fruit Slices - I Love Lemon

The forward of my book, Finding Delight, includes the statement: "I believe that the best life is a varied life.  When hobbies and travel collide with friendship and collecting.  Where sugar rules and stories matter."

Where sugar rules, Anne?  Really?  Yes.

I love sweets.  And I like sharing them with my friends and family.  I want to go out for cupcakes.  I want to make cookies when a friend is coming over for tea.  I have wonderful memories associated with candy and I want to be reminded of them as often as possible.  

My maternal grandmother, Anne, loved fruit slices.  I spent most of my time with her during summer days at her cottage up north. On the glorious days that it was just the two of us, we always ate candy.  Her two favorites were Sanders Dark Honeycomb Chips and Fruit Slices.  

If you clicked on the fruit slices link, you'll see them as I remember them. A white tray with 16 slices on it - four each of cherry, lemon, orange and lime.  There weren't very many slices and I remember that when the occasion called for candy, we only ate one.  It was special and we savored every chewy bite.  

I am nothing if not sentimental, so it shouldn't surprise you that two of my favorite candies are dark chocolate honeycomb chips and lemon fruit slices.  But times have changed, things are more plentiful now and I can actually buy fruit slices (just my favorite, lemon!) in a bulk box at my local grocery store.  I know Nama wouldn't believe it if she saw what I had access to.  

I try and show restraint; I don't always have them on hand.  But on Sunday afternoon as I passed by the candy aisle, this box of sugar made its way into my cart.  I eat them with abandon while they last and think of my grandmother every time.  Yes, my friends, sugar is a powerful memory maker and I wouldn't have it any other way.  

Antique Teaspoons

I treasure my grandmother's collection of souvenir teaspoons and for a while now, I have been trying to figure out the most beautiful way to display them.

They are mostly from towns in New England (like Bethel, Maine) and they look really lovely now that I have "shined them up". I decided that a Martha Stewart shadow box would be perfect - it is more modern than a spoon rack, and lets the beauty and history of each piece shine through. Plus, I like having them safe and sound under glass. Love it.