Dad's Recipes

My dad and I shared the wood shop in the garage for years, even after I moved out. Obviously we shared the tools. But things like aprons, clip boards … these were personal. And I was thinking about it because, even though he’s been dead for a long time now, I still don’t use his apron or clip board and I make sure his hat is always where it belongs if it gets knocked down. But, yesterday my clipboard was out of arms reach so I grabbed his, carefully taking his notes off it so they wouldn’t get lost… then I stopped… and shook my head and went to toss them out. He wouldn’t need them and any projects he was working on were long past the point of worrying about completing.

But I thought better of it and sorted through the stack. Pitched most of it. But at the bottom were the various mushroom recipes he had amassed. Pickled mushrooms, canned dried etc.. For a man who had a file folder for everything his recipes were everywhere.

In fact, a few weeks ago while cleaning out a kitchen cabinet I found the sausage recipes my dad had acquired from my mother’s cousin Joey. We had used them when I was 14-17 to make … well sausage. It was strange because I had been thinking about them not too long ago as I went to make a kielbasa. Honestly I thought they had been left in the butcher shop we set up in southern Illinois.

So now I have a collection of various recipes I haven’t cooked with or eaten since my teen years. And I’m looking at the new one’s I’m working on in connection with a new product under development. And I think I’m switching directions. Now I’m going to incorporate it into old recipes. (Assuming they are as good as my memory seems to believe!)

Peace,
Charles

p.s. I had intended a tasting party for the beginning of the summer, but have just been too busy, anyone interested in attending on mid to late august let me know! Menu to be a surprise!