Grandmothers are the best cooks ever! They used simple ingredients to make the tastiest of dishes and always made sure their family was well fed. Often, these good cooks didn’t use recipes, they cooked from their memories of their own mother’s cooking.
Visiting with your resident about their family and the meals they shared is always a joy for the individual. You can garner much information just from casual chats. Ask about the gardens they tended and the vegetables they used for cooking. Ask about canning (remember these folks had no freezers until later in life), and preserving. Jot down some of the fun facts to include in the recipe book.
Bring a small binder with page protectors to your 2nd and 3rd visit and show the participant what you want to do with her shared cooking memories. Ask about getting a photo of the individual, either a new one or an older one that you can copy. Several photos would be wonderful. you may be able to visit with the family about the pictures. You might also hear some interesting stories shared by family members concerning their mother’s cooking, and I’m sure they will have favorite recipes made by mom.
You may type the stories or quotes, but hand written notes look more authentic. Be creative together.
SECONDARY ACTIVITY: RECIPE CARD BOX
Supplies:
You will need to prepare a bit for this activity. For each participant you will need a large plastic recipe box and recipe cards to fit. Also you will need index cards for the different categories.
Activity:
Visit with the participant about the cooking she did for her family. Don’t rush into the need for recipes; many of our senior cooks never used a recipe!
Discuss typical family meals when she was growing up. Then ask about typical meals that she prepared for her family.
Remove a few of the index cards and ask your participant what some of the most important food categories were in her kitchen. Label the cards appropriately. You may have “Potatoes”, “Meats”, “Vegetables”, “Noodles”, “Cookies”, etc.
Stop there for one day. On the second visit, review the cards you have in the recipe box. Pull one and ask about its preparation; for example, “Potatoes”. Ask your participant to share one method she used to prepare potatoes for her family or that her mother used to feed her family. The story of the recipe is as important as the recipe itself and should be added to the recipe card. If there is no actual recipe, be sure to write down the words of preparation just as given by your participant. Family will know if the words are hers!
This is a leisure activity. Do not rush to complete this project as it is all about the visit, the memories, and the sharing. One recipe a day may be enough but if there is a natural lead-in to an complimentary recipe, keep the conversation going.
Once the box is near completion, paint the name of the grandchild on the lid. (I wouldn’t do this too early on as the name might change!)
This activity can last for as long as the participant enjoys visiting and sharing stories from the kitchen; could be weeks or it could be months!
