GRANDMA'S DISH

One of my favorite things about family gatherings is the food. Now that Old Mother Frugal’s family is growing and adding more cooks, this brings more family recipes to our dinner table.

With family recipes come some great family stories.

I have a personal obsession with Depression-era cooking. I am in constant amazement the depth at which (mostly) mothers went through to place a meal on the kitchen table for their families. As a result, I look at dandelions as something other than a weed in the grass.

It seems every family has a dinner entrée referred to as “Grandma’s Dish”. Most “Grandma’s Dish” recipes came out of need to feed a large family during the Depression.

In Old Mother Frugal’s family, my grandmother’s dish was “Jumbutt”. It was a skillet dish of varying bell peppers, onions, potatoes and hot dogs or some type of sausage. Grandma never measured; she just counted the mouths she needed to feed and chopped accordingly.

For my daughter-in-law, that dish is aptly called “Grandma’s Dish” which is a tomato-based ground beef dish with varying spices.

At my daughter's wedding reception, she incorporated her groom’s grandmother’s favorite dishes and the family’s favorite salad dressing.

Whether it’s from Manhattan, NY or near Manhattan, KS or along the coast of Charleston, SC the legacy that grandmother’s leave to their families are the stories of family. Salute!

SOUND THE BUGLE! Today’s tip: My favorite website for Depression-era cooking is www.greatdepressioncooking.com with the late Clara Cannucciari. She was 98 years old when she passed away yet she share recipes that her mother made when Clara was a child.  These are simple yet inexpensive meals that can be applied to today’s frugal cooking.

                                                                   JUMBUTT