How many of you out there have a box full of recipes that is not in any particular order. Most of us do. Recipes whether handed down from family or cut out of magazines and yes now a days found on the Internet have quite a bit of significances in our lives.

Think about it. What I found that the recipes in these boxes stored in a cabinet in your kitchen somewhere are memories. Take them out, look through them, and think about them. I know for myself that when I look at mine their reminders from when I was a child, recipes my grandmother passed down to my mother and now to me. Recipes from when I was a student at the CIA. Recipes I found in magazines that I wanted to try for a dinner party with friends and put my spin on it. They are all there. “Memories”

Dinners with friends from my past who I have not had contact with in 20 years, dinners from family members who are no longer with us. Dinners when I was broke, dinners when I was doing well, dinners from when I was with my ex – wife. Yes even bad memories are attached to these recipes.

Don’t let them go. For me I go through these recipes and revel at these memories. I find that as I’m looking through the box I will prepare once again a dish I have not done in years.

Cindy and I usually have 10 to 20 people at are home here in Tucson for most of the big holidays. We invite friends, family and neighbors. Cindy and I go through the recipes and figure out our menu. Cindy has a recipe that was passed down from her late mother Jean for scalloped potatoes. This dish is made with Velvetta Cheese and bacon and cream. Now lets face it, its not gourmet, nor is it very healthy for you, but every year our regular guests ask “are we having your mothers potatoes” One holiday we did not make it and I swear there was an air of disappointment. Needless to say it’s a staple on the menu now. For Thanksgiving I make my Italian sausage stuffing and my Grandma’s homemade ravioli’s. Passed from my grandmother to my mother to me and its always a hit. My neighbor Tara has a recipe for a cheesecake that is just phenomenal. Its her moms (who is 94) who has joined us for many of these dinners. I still have not been able to get that recipe. Tara informs me her mother will disown her if she gave out the recipe. I believe her. It makes for a lot of fun and conversation and a lot of the stories come from the recipes. “MEMORIES”

With the days at hand where both adults work to provide income for the household and nuclear families seem to be something of the past. These recipes seem to disappear and that’s a shame. Don’t let it happen. Organize them; pass them along to other family and friends. And keep on adding your own to pass along to the next generation!!