If you’ve been reading Blind Pig & The Acorn for any length of time you know I love to cook for my family.
I enjoy all aspects of the process. I suppose my least favorite part is cleaning up the dishes, but even that task gives me a great sense of accomplishment as I put my messy kitchen back into order.
With the modern convenience of air conditioning, cooking in the summer is just as pleasurable as it is in winter. Especially when you think about all the wonderful food that comes straight out of the garden making a short stop in my kitchen before it ends up on a plate in front of a hungry person.
I love to cook in the winter too. I love the cozy feeling the kitchen takes on as the stove eyes and oven adds additional heat to the house. My favorite part of the process is the way steam condenses on the cold windows and fogs them around the edges.
The first time I notice that phenomenon each fall I get the biggest grin on my face. There’s something so pleasurable in knowing I’m safe and warm inside our cozy house cooking for those I love most.
In addition to that good feeling, there’s also a ton of memories associated with the windows being fogged from cooking.
I loved the feeling of them when I was a girl too. Granny would be cooking up a storm—Pap might even be helping her. Us kids would have come in from a cold day of playing outside and be sitting around in the living-room or running around under Pap and Granny’s feet waiting to be called to the table when supper was ready.
The days of childhood also gave me that same feeling of being safe and snug as a bug in a rug.
I’ve never experienced not being safe or warm for any length of time so I’ve studied on why I instinctively get that feeling from cooking or being near cooking on a cold winter’s day.
Could it be muscle memory passed down through the generations from folks who truly did experience the lack of food, warmth, and safety? Or maybe I have a great appreciation for those feelings because Pap told me many stories about folks who did lack them, even his own family at times when he was a boy.
Last night’s video: Visiting with Granny: Crochet Presents & Christmas Memories.
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I think having ‘enough’ food, when growing up, is exactly what gives you that comfort feeling. I always had enough food to eat and think on food as a way to show love to people that you care about. Its a lot of work, especially if you raise most of what you eat (like I do), to grow it, preserve it & then prepare it! So, it is the effort that counts, as they might say. As a child, & wife, of people who grew up without enough to eat, I can see the effects that has on a person. You never think you ‘have enough’ and are always worried. It can become an obsession that manifests itself in different ways. In my mother’s case she was always worried about us going hungry, so she hoarded food & was very controlling on what we were allowed to eat. She can never just ‘enjoy’ eating/cooking & relax. With my husband, he goes the other way. He can be wasteful & overly generous, and at the same time want to have more & more. He doesn’t have the idea of conserving, because his thought is…”it might not be there later, so I need to eat/have all that I want now before its gone”. I love to cook, eat, & share my culinary efforts with those I care for the most!
The day that I make fruitcakes is the day that I know Xmas is on the way. I have several older friends that are just crazy about an old fashioned, homemade fruitcake. If you have only ever had the store bought junk, do yourself a favor; give a homemade one a try & you will have a different appreciation for a much maligned Xmas tradition. I start the cake making season with Truman Capote’s short story, “A Christmas Memory”. Have you ever read that one, Tipper? Then I listen to the Irish tune, Mrs. Fogerty’s Cake. That one will make me laugh every time. Then, I get on my apron, get out the rum & get to work! I don’t even bother to make many holiday cookies anymore – friends share more than enough. My Italian friend just left some on my front steps yesterday morning – a whole platter of them!!!! We had some for breakfast.
Patty-I’ve never read it but will check it out 🙂
Well, Tipper and all the readers have sent me down memory lane again….I remember at my Grandma’s house her windows would get foggy around the edges. For a long time, they had fireplaces and wood stoves to heat with and cook on, then got kerosene and gas heaters as time went on. I remember it being so cold that the frosty edge would turn into ice and we could look at it and it looked like snow flakes on the windows. Safe, warm, the animals all fed and milked, good food cooking and hot biscuits with homemade churned butter and preserves. We were organic before organic was cool! I hope everyone has a wonderful old time Christmas with those they love.
My wife and I made a second pan of fudge this AM. We have two places to visit tomorrow and will take some to each place. My sister usually makes about 6 different flavors this time of year but I won’t get to visit her so I have to make my own.
There is something magical about those kitchen windows steamed up from cooking. There is nothing in the world any better than the warmth coming from a kitchen. It truly is the heart of the home. And what can I say about Granny? Not enough words to describe the wonderful mama you have Tipper. She’s become a celebrity here at home. Last night I found out Granny was on and yelled and told Robert and he came zooming downstairs to watch with me. The things she makes are beautiful and will be kept for years to come and the love with every stitch shows also. The angels are wonderful too. Have a blessed day everyone!!
Granny must keep the yarn mills running full steam. She sure does make some pretty things!
Yesterday found me in the kitchen making Tipper’s sausage balls. I took some liberties adding some cayenne pepper to spice up the regular sausage. I used asiago cheese instead of Parmesan because I had the former and not the latter. I doubled the recipe and got more than 5 dozen balls a bit bigger than the ones Tipper makes.
I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and a Healthy, Happy and Prosperous New Year.
Blessings to all . . .
I love to cook too. Cooking brings back fond memories for me of my mother, family gatherings and happier times.
My old single pane windows in this 1940s house get condensation on them allll the time. It’s a real issue and at some point when I can find someone to do it and afford it, I reckon they need to be replaced.
I often think of folks who had these old windows and how they’ve (the windows) survived all the years. Mine are moldy and beginning to decay due to the moisture.
There is something very comforting about being inside all warm and cooking.
Granny is the Queen of Crochet and her sweet disposition comes through every time you allow us in to sit a spell with her! That little baby sweater, pants and slippers are precious! I bought a crocheted ornament angel many years ago and since I don’t have the pattern and can’t find it, I’m a still trying to figure it out. Maybe by next year I will be able to make one:) I love the sweaters she has made for the girls and her granny squares jackets are absolutely stunning! She is a living treasure for your family!! I have been crocheting with the thin thread making Cross book markers and find that my fingers don’t work as well as they used to. I know what a white pine is but I’ve never heard of a black pine so I’m going to look that one up. I’m sure that a Holly Tree wold be beautiful with strong branches but might stick you if weren’t careful. Cedar trees are beautiful but the branches are not so strong. In my Mother’s family of seven girls, the two oldest were the ones that would go out in the woods and pick the tree they thought was the prettiest. Granny is right too about the wonderful smell of a real Christmas tree in the house.
I think I’ve mentioned before that my Mother was the Queen of cooking and I remember her saying when we got a huge snow up North she would call her sisters who lived in the same little town and they would all be thrilled and cooking up a storm of great food that fogged up not only the kitchen windows but even the dinning room picture window. It made us all feel cozy warm, safe and very much loved!
I remember when that moisture on the inside of the window would turn to ice. When Mommy was cooking three meals a day and the temperature outside wasn’t getting above freezing, ice would really build up over time. Looking out at the world through a sheet of ice leaves a lasting impression!
I love learning new things and yet today, you have made me learn a new old thing. My Mom was raised during the depression and her father had a stroke and unable to work – but refused any charity ‘help’. My grandmother raised chickens and her BIL lived with them and raised a huge garden each year. They did have food but meat was hard to come by. Seven children and a big heart to help others filled a huge table each night. Mom would tell us of their lives but not in a sad way. She always made it sound thin but happy. Her stocking always had a fresh tangerine or orange in it with nuts (gathers from woods) and a few times – that was it for Christmas. Maw would go out and wring a chicken neck and cook it up with biscuits and Mom told of how the kids would fight over the tail or liver. It sounded adventurous not empty. I have a strong compassion for people less fortunate than me and today, I think you showed me why. Mom’s memories filled with enjoyment and family – not filled with deprivation and sadness. Thank you more than you will ever know – for another blessing – appreciation for my Mom in a way I never thought about before. I am so rich due to her way of telling her story of life without.
Thanks for this post. Like others I also get that safe warm feeling when it’s cold outside and my wife is cooking. I help her by staying out of the way.
Speaking of feeling warm, my father fought in WWII. He was in the infantry at the Battle of the Bulge. His feet were frostbitten. For the rest of his life he made sure his family would never be cold. He kept wood in case the furnace failed.He owned about 30 coats and jackets. So did my mother. I understand when you said “muscle memory.” He passed away at age 98 two years ago. Now he is warm and snuggled in the arms of Jesus. Thank you for your beautiful blogs. They bring back so many memories.
Granny is definitely the crochet queen! Her talent is amazing and such a blessing to the receiver of all of her gifts. Her sweater sets were beautiful, the angel was amazing and I noticed all of the pretty decorations on her tree that she didn’t show. I’m lucky to sew a button on and it stays so I can really appreciate all of the beautiful homemade gifts. Wishing all of you a Merry Christmas!
Really enjoyed Granny’s video. She is amazing! You are so blessed to have her. I have done a lot of cooking in my life. We have 2 boys and they loved to eat mom’s cooking. Now they are married with their own families, but still remember meals I would cook. Cooking good food for your family is so special! Take care and God bless ❣️
In my mind the holiday cooking comes packaged with spending more time with loved ones. The luscious smells are always a very strong part of those memories. The marshmallows browning on top of the sweet tater casserole served to create a hankering for s’mores made in the fireplace. Mom’s dressing was always made with cornbread and giblets too so that nothing went to waste. But it did go to our waists, it just didn’t stay there very long with all the walks to the bus stop and shoveling the snow.
One of my favorite things is foggy windows around the edges mostly! It makes me feel warm, cozy and safe too! I remember being a child, running home from school to see the windows fogged up, knowing mommy was in that house with something good cooking!!! I’d write on the windows too in the fog. Usually it was a crude picture of a cat or my name…I like cooking, but with arthritis setting in, my fingers fumble, won’t work right, and sometimes stuff just goes a fly in’! To say it’s frustrating is putting it mildly. I’ve prayed, cried, ached and repeated. I made 4 pans of lasagna which I really enjoyed, but the pans are harder to lift and empty. All I can say is old age is NOT for weak punks and sissy’s… lol.
Tipper you and the commenters thus far give me a big smile. I recognize the giving hearts, the ones who get their greatest joy in serving others. God bless them, every one. And He does. Truly that is, as was said of David, “after God’s own heart”. I think maybe that was the apostle John’s nature and why it is written of him that he was “that disciple whom the Lord loved”. He loved well but said little.
Tipper, I like you have never experienced cold or hunger , thank God. So many people are hurting right now from lack and this week will be worse weather wise than we have seen in a long, long time. If you are able help someone out with food or warm clothes. I am so very thankful that when I get up on these cold days to warm the house before my family gets up all I have to do is just turn that little dial on the wall and by the time they get up the house is comfortable.When it’s time for breakfast my biggest chore is deciding what to cook out of all the choices we have, not is there anything to cook. For all these Blessing I am truly thankful. Make this Christmas season one to remember for folks who need it most. Merry Christmas and Blessings IN THE SAVIOR’S NAME♡
Good morning Miss Tipper, even though I don’t do much cookin myself I do remember this same feeling as a kid of the warmth and the aroma of my mom & my granny’s kitchens and the security I felt in those cold winter days as a boy growing up. Now I experience that same feeling in our own home when Robbie Lynn is cookin up a storm in her kitchen as I help her as much as I can and can tell that our kids enjoy this same feeling now as well as our nieces & nephews when they visit us this time of the year.
Thank you for sharing this post with us as you have really taken me down memory lane in a good way this morning.
I know you love to cook, and I know you are a very good cook! I love to cook too, and the Deer Hunter loves to cook. It’s a wonder we are not all obese! This is a wonderful time of year for cooking. The Christmas and thanksgiving holidays both require lots of food and cooking and I enjoy every minute of it!
Granny is a gem and you guys are Blessed to have her. As far as that ‘snug’ feeling, yeppers, I can feel that too. I love making sweets and treats to gift to those I know, relatives and perfect strangers. I like to take containers to the local Fire Dept and Sherriff’s Office…first responders do not get appreciated enough for what they do daily. Enjoy the rest of the holidays. God Bless.
I also enjoy steamed up Windows on houses. it brings back so many memories of cooking together as a family for the holidays. I get the biggest smile on my face not only in my home but when I’m driving and see a house with the lights on and smoke coming from the chimney and windows all fogged , up brings me joy.