My mom was my best friend.  She was the first person I called whenever something wonderful happened in my life or catastrophe hit.  We never lived more than 30 minutes away from each other and talked daily, sometimes about insignificant things, sometimes about life-altering experiences.

 

Dorothea (“Dottie,” “Dee,” “Mom,” “Maner,”) Galloway loved to cook and try new recipes.  Mom would cook, and then handwrite her favorite recipes onto sheets of paper (along with hints of altered ingredients or techniques) that she would compile in binders for my sister and myself.  I don’t think we ever truly appreciated these binders, knowing that we could always call her on the phone for recipes we had misplaced or tucked away to places unknown.

 

And then the ability to call her suddenly ceased, as our lovely mom unexpectedly passed away in November 2004.  

 

This Blintz Bubble Ring recipe was the perfect Christmas morning “snack” and became a holiday tradition.  It’s easy to make and even more delicious to eat.  The Christmas morning after my mom passed away, the significance of this tradition became even more profound, and so we busted out the ring pan in preparation of our Christmas morning delicacy.  As I began to prepare my shopping list, I realized I couldn’t call mom for the ingredients and started to panic.  How was I supposed to keep our cooking traditions alive if she wasn’t there for me to call?

 

Frantically I pulled out the unappreciated binder, and sure enough, there in the bread section of the binder was the Blintz Bubble Ring recipe written in mom’s handwriting.  She was still getting me through tough times, and the binder was now elevated to a new level of esteem it had not previously held.

 

With a consistently busy schedule, I have since gotten over the novelty of cooking.  As long as the counter is large enough to accommodate take-out boxes, it’s a complete kitchen in my eyes!  However, there will always be those special recipes that will continue in our family…our children are now cooking meals that were mom’s favorites.  Whenever I turn to the now-trusty binder, I can almost hear mom chuckling that I finally learned my lesson!

 

August, 2007