My First Recipe

My First Recipe

I found my recipe cards from my very first cooking class.

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I was in fourth grade and was fortunate to be able to sign up for a summer enrichment school at our elementary school.  I took a cooking class and a typing class.  (The kind of typing where you used real typewriters and thin yellow paper for practice.)   My first recipe was for Chocolate Oatmeal Candy.

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I can still remember standing on a little stool in front of the stove top at the school and stirring this recipe of gooey chocolate goodness. Our elementary school actually had a home ec room and sliding screen classroom walls.  Very hip and trendy for the open classroom concept of the 1970’s.

I treasure this recipe card along with others that I have from that class.  I love to see my fourth grade handwriting and the stains from cooking sessions of the past.  It made me nostalgic for other recipes of times long gone. I pulled out my old recipe boxes and found some recipes from my mom, grandma and great grandma. I love seeing their different handwriting.  So distinctive and full of memories.

I have always wanted to display some of these recipe card treasures and so tonight I did.  I dug into my linen closet for an old tablecloth from my mom that was given to her in the 1950’s.  Then I found a perfect long picture frame in my basement.  I lined the back of the frame and chose 5 recipe cards – one from my great grandma, grandma, mother, me, and Olivia.  Five generations of cooking.

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I love it!  I can’t wait to hang it in my kitchen.  I think sometimes we are missing the personal touch and opportunity to share our family heritage when we find recipes on the internet and print them out on the printer.  No memories in that. I’m going to make a point to rewrite some of my recipes for my kids and tie them up with a ribbon and put them in a little tin box.  Just like I have mine.

 

Chocolate Oatmeal Candy

1/2 cup milk

2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup butter

3 tablespoons cocoa

1/2 cup peanut butter

3 cups rolled oats

1 cup chopped nuts

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Mix sugar, butter, cocoa, and milk in a large saucepan.  Boil for about 3 minutes, sirring constantly.  Remove from heat and add peanut butter.  Stir until blended.  Add rolled oats, nuts, and vanilla.  Drop by tablespoonfuls onto parchment paper.  Cool.

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One Response to My First Recipe

  1. Anonymous September 4, 2015 at 6:57 am #

    Julie, this post is so precious! I love the way you hold on to family memories!

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