Late last month, I was feeling rather nostalgic about the past, and as a result I decided to hold a once-off event celebrating foods tied to events in our past. Having extended this invitation out, I’ve been utterly overwhelmed by the response from food bloggers looking to take part and share some wonderful memories and recipes - thank you to everyone for taking part in this one off event, and for helping me to celebrate the past and the moments and recipes that have brought us to where we are today :) Now, without further ado, on to the round-up!


Always a wonderful storyteller, Neil from At My Table shares some bittersweet memories of his mum, as well as a scone-making session that took him back to the Sunday night scones with jam and cream that he enjoyed as a child


Pinky over at The Poison Doughnut brings us her mama’s chicken soup to the table, as well as memories of growing up in Papua New Guinea and eating this soup on those tropical nights


Deborah from Play with food shares a very special recipe for Szechwan Chicken Salad, as well as some sweet and sad memories of The Colonel, her beloved father in law


I-Ling, author of Feed Me! I’m Hungry!! brings us the memory of her aunt’s American Salad from her childhood


The marvellous Tanna from My Kitchen in Half Cups reveals a recipe for her cousin Eddie’s Salsa Fresca, as well as sharing the memory of growing up with her older cousins, the surrogate older siblings she never had


Rachel over at Coconut & Lime brings her grandfather’s ground beef gravy to the table, and fondly remembers the extras serves of his dinner that welcomed her back home after school


Ashley from Big Cook, Tiny Kitchen offers up these wonderful Mexican Wedding Cookies, and the memory of them being made by her Aunt Crickett


Mandi at Red Dirt Mummy recalls making this chocolate cake with her Nan, and the many appearances it made during her childhood


Helene from Tartlette reminisces about her grandmother and the rest of her family half a world away, and remembers the past through her gradmother’s rice pudding


Rice puddings must be one of those foods that grandmothers excel at, as Truffle from What’s On My Plate remembers her grandmother with this cardamom rice pudding


Miss Eagle over at Food From Oz introduces us to an uniquely Aussie spin on mash with mashed pumpkin & potato with vegemite, a food that has been part of Australia since the 1920s!


Cindy from Where’s The Beef recalls happy days in her childhood spent playing on her grandparent’s farm, and the ’smoko’ breaks during which she enjoyed these ‘cowpat cookies‘ (also known as ginger drop biscuits)


These gorgeous cherry currant danishes were created by Brilynn over at Jumbo Empanadas, her efforts spurred by memories of her reluctance to attend services at church as a little tyke


Doodles, one of the three lovely writers from Peanut Butter Etouffee, recalls a childhood memory of the best ever chili she shared with her sister Mooncrazy


This simple-but-sweet sandwich delight is brought to us by Claire from Cooking is Medicine, inspired by the memory of her mother making these for her when see was just a wee’un


This delightful looking stuff is chocolate gravy, an dish born from the mind of Shawna’s grandmother. Head over to Confections of a Foodie Bride to read more about her fond memories of this special woman


The lovely Lis from La Mia Cucina remembers her mother’s chicken & noodles, a kitchen stalwart which has seen her through many moments in her life


This colourful and tasty frittata reminds Susan from Food “Blogga” of the many such dishes she and her mother enjoyed with her grandmother


This beautiful daal dhokli is offered up by Bee from Jugalbandi, as well as memories of her mother and her childhood spent growing up in India


Chris from Mele Cotte recalls growing up in a food-filled Italian household, and the occasional sweet treats like these struffoli that were a part of special occasions


Kitty from My Husband Hates Veggies recalls memories of her Italian-American childhood and her grandmother’s cooking that followed the rule that salt is necessary, especially in this delicious giambotta


These delicious krispy knots with honey and pistachio come to us from the mind of the wonderful Gattina from Kitchen Unplugged, who made them in an effort to recreate some of her childhood from Hong Kong


Ilva, the mastermind behind Lucullian Delights, shares with us some memories of her mother, and the cannelloni alla kia that she made for her as a child


Fellow Australia-based Kazari from I think I have a recipe for that reaches back to her early childhood in Canada, and the different forms of macaroni and cheese that have been a part of her life


Cris over at From Our Home to Yours remembers this condensed milk flan, a favourite from her childhood as made by her mother


These adorable winter biscuits are Joanna from Joanna’s Foods attempt to recreate to her grandmother’s little sweet bites, using quince jam to recall the memory of her and her kitchen


Ulrike from Küchenlatein remembers the comfort she got from her packet mix vanilla pudding with orange sauce, the first dish she cooked herself as a child


Toni from Daily Bread Journal presents her meema’s noodles and cabbage for our consumption, a dish that brings her family together and helps them remember the force of nature that was their grandma


Ronnie at Around the Table gives us a recipe for this delightful rehrϋcken (classic Viennese chocolate cake), a cake that was her mother’s signature dessert and appeared at many a family occasion


This plate of deliciousness is gheea koftey (fried dumplings in gravy), a submission from Richa at As Dear As Salt that remembers the way she and her sister would devour these morsels when her mom made them during their childhood


Fellow Melbournian Melinda from Melbourne Larder brings us her mother’s chocolate rough slices, as well as many memories about different foods and the fondness she has for them all


Zorra over at 1x umrühren bitte recreates a black forest cake, the standard birthday cake that she had as a child, courtesy of her mother’s friend


Though Stephanie from The Elegant Sufficiency really wanted to cook brains for her entry, her butcher’s lack thereof led her to make these devilled kidneys on toast, a favourite breakfast in her mother’s home


Becke from Columbus Foodie bowed out to her husband Paul for this event, giving him a chance to recall the days when dinner was taken with the whole family around the dining table, enjoying dishes like his mother’s salmond noodle casserole


Paul at Writing At The Kitchen Table recalls growing up in the 80s as a little boy, a love of West Side Story and summertime dinners eating outdoors on a picnic table, hopefully with his favourite teriyaki burgers as made by his mom

The last but definetely not least entry for this event has been sent in by Tim Hendshaw, and as he’s not from amongst our food-blogging ranks, his memory and recipe are below :)

The woman (and the source of the recipe) is my mother. She died in June 2003. A subarachnoid aneurysm ruptured. No notice, no warning. I have brought that recipe to many “orphan Thanksgivings” and since she died, it has become my Christmas responsibility.

As far as a memory goes, I got my hood in May 2003. My folks flew out for the ceremony (boston –>michigan for those in the states). I had my hood over my arm and I was chatting with my major professor as we walked into the auditorium, which held several thousand people. I glanced up at the crowd and the first eyes I saw were my mother’s. For the rest of the weekend my mom relished in this memory of her son picking her out of a many thousand person crowd. I chalked it up to coincidence. I’m glad she had that memory when she died three weeks later.

Tim’s mother’s carrot loaf

Ingredients
2-3 TB shortening
1 ½ c. + 5 TB corn flake crumbs
5 c. (3 lbs.) cooked carrots / pureed in food processor
1 ½ c. milk
3 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 c. butter, melted
½ c. chopped onion
2 ½ tsp. salt
Black pepper to taste
Dash of red pepper (Tim’s note - a few dashes of red pepper)
1/8 tsp. grated nutmeg
1 TB dried basil or mint
6 eggs
(Tim’s note - a couple cloves garlic)

1. Set oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 12-cup mold and sprinkle with 5 TB corn flake crumbs.

2. In large bowl, combine remaining crumbs, milk, cheese, butter, onion, and seasonings. Beat eggs on high for 1 minute; add carrots.

3. Combine everything and pour into mold. This all can be done ahead and allowed to stand at room temperature (covered) for 1 hour.

4. Bake for 1-½ hours uncovered. Cover top and allow to stand for ½ hour. Invert.

Tim’s note: if you want to unmold, make sure the edges are well browned, otherwise, just serve out of casserole)

Once again, thank you to everyone who participated and helped bring this idea of mine to life in a celebration of our past and the memories and people who have been a part of our journey to where we now stand. And of course, the food :)

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Comments

What a great line-up. Thanks for the idea and thanks to all bloggers, who share the memories.

What a response! We all have such a lot of food memories that it feels great to be able to share so this was a needed event! Thanks Ellie!

Thanks so much for hosting! My nostalgia post was a labor of love and in looking at recipes and the stories of other participants, you can see both the wonderful and bittersweet memories… I guess that is what “comfort food” is!

Ha, ha Ellie, you never guessed you’d get that many did you! You certainly hit the cord. How fabulous!!
and they do all look wonderfully so good!
Very perfect to put Tim’s at the end…what a gift he gave his mother.

Great round up! Thanks for hosting, Ellie!

WOW! What an amazing response Ellie. Thankyou for thinking of this and for hosting it. Now I have lots of other blogs to go check out :wink:

thanks for an excellent round up, Ellie. :grin:

Ellie, what a wonderful event. This was one I really wanted to participate in, but the time just got away from me. (Darn day job!) I look forward to reading the entries though, and the one from Tim has already brought tears to my eyes. My own mother died in 1998 and if I’d found the time I would have made her famous chicken and homemade noodles.

Wonderful round up Ellie, thanks for hosting this great event!

This post is just fabulous and I can’t wait to check out all of the other entries. I love the fact that you, at such a young age, understand the importance of preserving memorie and that it is not just us middle age and old farts that want to take a stroll down memory lane. WELL DONE!

Ulrike - Thank you so much for taking part :) It was through the participation of other that this idea came alive, and for that I’m so grateful!

Ilva - I know! I didn’t except such a big response to my little call, but am happy that it struck a chord with so many people! Thank you so much for taking part Ilva :)

Deborah - Thank you for taking part! Your entry was one of the ones that really touched me, and it was wonderful to read :)

Tanna - I never ever would have guessed that so many would take part! To say that I was overwhelmed would be an understatement :P I’m glad you liked my decision to put Tim’s entry last - I thought it would be a fitting way to end the round-up :)

Rachel - My pleasure :)

Mandi - Hehehe, it was my pleasure hon! And I feel exactly the same way - my blogroll just continues to get longer and longer!

Richa - My pleasure :)

Kalyn - I hope that you’ll still put up your mother’s chicken and noodle recipe, I would love to read it!

Brilynn - My pleasure hon :D

Ronnie - Aww shucks, thank you :) I think it’s important to be able to look back and reflect on the memories and experiences that you’ve had in order to help you move forward, I hope I’m not the only young person who can appreciate this :P

Just a fabulous event, Ellie.. thanks for hosting and for coming up with the idea! I’m blow away by everyone’s dishes.. can’t wait to go and read the stories I haven’t come across yet. :D

xoxo

thank you, ellie, for organising this unique event. the entries are fabulous.

What a lovely idea, i’m so sorry i missed it.

What a big success this event!!!
I have so many feelings to some other entries… Ellie, you are a great host!

What a great bunch of foodies….and Ellie you did a terrific job of rounding us all up. Thanks for thinking of this nostalgic even…fun!!! Off to read now.

Lisa - Aww, thanks hon :D

Bee - Cheers, I’m glad you liked it :)

Kes - You’re back! Glad to see that you’re still around hon :)

Gattina - Awww, thank you sunshine :D

Doodles - Hehehe, cheers :) Hope you enjoy the entries as much as I did :)

:shock: What a huge round up! Thanks for hosting and all the hard work. It will take me a lil’ while, but I am going to get through all of these. Have a great week!

My mum and I always had a difficult relationship, funny though I’ve never been able to write a mean thing about her, maybe time does heal all. Nice to be able to be with her once more through your wonderful event.

Chris - It looks like the theme struck a chord with lots of people :) it was my absolute pleasure to run this event, and I hope everyone enjoys the round-up!

Neil - I like to think that time provides a healing band-aid where it can :) Glad you enjoyed taking part!

That was so sweet of you to have this event, I will take time this week and check all blogs! wooo hooo!!!!

Thank you, Ellie! This is a marvellous collection - a whole recipe book in one post. How convenient! Sweets and slices, deserts and dollops, main courses and snacks and comfort food, quick dishes and ones lovingly from a mother’s hand. As one prepares the recipes, one can think of the heart warming memories that have brought them to blog!

Cris - It was my pleasure, I’m just glad that so many people found the time to participate, yourself included :)

Miss Eagle - I’m glad you like the round-up, I had so much fun putting this event together and reading everyone’s entries :) There really is a great collection of food here, and the memories that accompany them just make them all that much sweeter :)

What a great idea Ellie. It is a nice round up indeed! Looking back to the past is obviously an important thing to do, and a nice homage to her missed mum!

Thanks Bea :)

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