Cooking Up a Birthday Post

With Mother’s Birthday Season coming up, it was appropriate that I was standing on a step ladder looking at the very back of a closet in the corner bedroom.

I didn’t find what I was looking for, but I ran across this box of recipes she had collected. Unlike her green metal file box with handwritten food ideas I started scanning a few years back (and got distracted before finishing it), most of these were stories clipped from magazines.

Braunschweiger Ball Snack

I mentioned once that I have a craving for Braunschweiger about twice a year. I pull out the Ritz crackers, some sour cream and, maybe, some cheese, and eat enough that I belch it for the rest of the week. 

If you have a special occasion coming up, you should whip up some Braunschweiger Balls to impress all your friends. It will be a dish that will be talked about for a long, long time. Maybe not in your presence, though.

The Ellis Family Favorite Recipes

Ellis Family Favorite Recipes Cookbook

Back in the days before you could share your cooking concoctions electronically, families, clubs, churches and others would collect and publish cook books.

This one must have been printed in the early 1990s, because many of the illustrations are dated 1992.

Ellis Family History

Ellis Family Favorite Recipes Cookbook

It all started in the spring of 1865….

A lot of Mother’s friends

Ellis Family Favorite Recipes Cookbook

I probably wouldn’t have looked twice at the book if I hadn’t seen this list of family members. I recognize names I heard (or overheard) Mother talking about. Some of them were her closest friends.

Flatwood Church Reunions

Ellis Family Favorite Recipes Cookbook

Family members would come together at the old Flatwoods Church the first Sunday of each June. I don’t think I ever heard of the church, but I’d love to see if it’s still standing.

Just before pushing the Publish button, I did a little more checking. It looks like Flatwoods is near Glenallen in Bollinger County. As soon as the mosquitoes and ticks take their seasonal nap, I might poke around a bit.

I’d love to spend time looking for good things to cook, but if any Ellis family members would like the book, reach out to me and let’s see what we can work out.