The Recipe Box

On days when warmth is the most important need of the human heart, the kitchen is where to find it.

-EB White

My recipe box is over one hundred years old. It was my great grandmother’s. It sits on top of a produce crate I have in my kitchen. Although missed by most, it often catches my eye. There are not many days that go by when I do not open it up and pull out family favorites for supper or special dessert treats.

The newest edition to my box is my Grandmother’s savory dinner roll muffins. They are so delicious! After she gave me the recipe, she decided to whip up a batch to go with supper that evening for her and my grandpa. There seems to be a magical power associated with sharing a good recipe. And yet, no matter how many times we make culinary masterpieces, we seem to always find ourselves going back to check our ingredients list.

What would be the point of a cherished recipe if you never needed to look at the card? It’s in the residue of 1 cup of flour, 2 eggs, and ½ a teaspoon of vanilla that bring the recipe back to life again. The stains become the focal points of days gone by, and good food shared.

This past summer, a new found friend invited me over to teach me the art of canning. When Eva and I arrived, there were homemade biscuits and jam still sitting on the table from breakfast. The kids and her had taken a quick stroll out by the garden before coming back to the house to meet us. Without knowing her very well at all, I smiled to myself, knowing somewhere in her kitchen was a recipe box as well. She told me later that love for her family kept her putting homemade meals on the table. I knew we would be fast friends.

A recipe box is a vault, and only the right people are privileged to the combination. There are treasures locked inside like: macaroni and cheese, hammerhead meat, stir fry and spaghetti, blueberry pancakes and muffins, cinnamon roll biscuits, and chocolate gravy (don’t knock it till you try it). Banana pudding, pecan pie, and countless other recipes traded over the years, lie safe-guarded inside my recipe box. There are spoonsful of cookie dough waiting to be eaten and Christmas favorites waiting to be baked. The sweetest recollections come to life as the countertop is covered with reminiscent ingredients once again. Instant will never take the place of homemade, but a recipe will always require the input of the one holding the card.

Another Thanksgiving is upon us. The years have trickled by, and the writing has begun to fade from the once newly written recipes, and yet, the anticipated dishes will shine forth in delivery from the familiar hands of those we love, and each dish will taste just as delicious as the first time the recipe was pulled from the box.

Happy Thanksgiving

“I will give thanks to you, oh Lord, with all of my heart, and I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.” Psalms 9:1

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