Mom’s Best: Served Almost Daily

The original family cookbook was first gathered and compiled in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Jamie decided that they needed to write down all the important family recipes that existed only in Mom’s head. Mom agreed that it would also be a good idea to take all of her recipe cards, handwritten recipe pages, and clipped recipes and have one place to go to when she was looking for a certain recipe.

It took them a few years (as both were working at the time) of recipe testing and scrap winnowing. Many recipes had to be made by Maureen while Jamie wrote them down, asking questions for clarification.

Finally, in 1990, the cookbook was complete. It was printed on holed paper at the local copy shop and distributed to family and friends. It was a hit, as Maureen was known as a good cook and baker.

All of our original print versions are now a little dog-eared and ingredient splattered. Maureen’s binder is overstuffed with new recipes, while the children prefer to add recipes to their electronic versions (although Maureen does that, too).

We’ve decided to do a complete overhaul of the original cookbook, adding more than 25 years’ worth of new family favorites. We’ve had to remove a few recipes, as some ingredients are no longer available. Maureen’s children added their own recipes that they created or enjoy as adults living on their own.

The children are making the cookbook available for sale at Amazon as a fundraiser for their aging parents. Dad is already in foster care due to advancing dementia and physical decline. Mom has spent the last several months in and out of hospitals and rehab facilities due to a variety of health issues. We don’t know all we’ll be facing in the future, but already financial resources are stretched thin; Dad’s foster care (while wonderful) costs nearly his entire retirement pay, leaving Mom with very little. We hope the book sells well, and the proceeds will make their final years better for all.

Thank you for reading this to the bottom!