GRANDMA’S KITCHEN CHALLENGE

The Wonderful Memories of Grandma’s Kitchen

I can still smell the smells, and hear the laughter

I had a Grandma and a Nana. My Grandma lived in my hometown of Statesville, NC, and my Nana in my Mom’s hometown of Newport, South Wales, in the UK.

That was a godsend of a situation, as Grandma is one of my most admired women ever, while my Nana taught me the kind of woman I didn’t want to be.

I was never in Nana’s kitchen on the few visits to Wales that I recall, and neither was my Mom. It was not allowed. It was her territory and her territory alone. Nana was supposedly a good cook, but I have no memories of her cooking. I find it sad she didn’t pass it on.

Grandma, on the other hand, had an amazing and open kitchen, where everyone tried to congregate. After my mom married my Dad on her 19th birthday, Grandma taught her the basics of cooking and how to have confidence in the kitchen. Mom credits Grandma every time anyone compliments her cooking.

The mother of ten children, Grandma could whip up a meal like nobody’s business. Sunday lunch was usually at Grandma and Grandpa’s house. Grandma, Grandpa, ten children, spouses, and grandchildren. Whoever could come was welcome, and most did. Everyone brought a dish. There were a lot of us.

Grandma’s kitchen was almost all stainless steel before it was trendy. Grandpa was in the sheet metal business, so the material that he could buy cheaply was everywhere. Ir wasn’t huge, yet large amounts of food were cooked there every day and many dishes were washed. The enclosed back porch had shelves upon shelves of canned vegetables and fruits that Grandma “put up” from their garden bounty.

* When My Grandmother Cooked, My Job Was To…

sit and talk to her. She always working, though never acted rushed. The conversation continued as she prepared meals, as I sat at the round table for four where she and Grandpa ate most of their meals when the whole family was not there.

That’s also where we ate breakfast when my older sister and I spent the night. Never a morning person, my younger aunts still giggle about me shivering until I received my cup of hot tea with sugar and milk. They believe I was in caffeine withdrawal, while I know I still require plenty of time to wake up.

* The smell that makes me think of my grandma’s kitchen is…

bacon. My mom was British, so breakfast was cereal or toast. I fought breakfast in the morning most of the time, though Mom made us eat something before school. When I spent the night with Grandma, however, I ate a full country breakfast. Eggs, bacon, toast or biscuits, home-cooked baked apples — whatever she had on hand. At Grandma’s house, we woke up to the smell of bacon frying. The bacon grease was saved near the stove and thrown in with vegetables or to fry potatoes, or any number of things. Grandma was a good Southern cook.

* The taste that makes me remember childhood…

was my mom’s roast beef dinners. Roast beef, roast potatoes, green peas (frozen, never canned or fresh), and gravy. The flavors all run together, even though I ate my food in a particular order. (Green peas or other veggies first, then the meat, then the potatoes last.)

* If it were up to me, I would only eat…

cereal or soup. In college, I lived on Honey Nut Cheerios. I eat healthier cereals now (preferably with protein), but I rarely tire of eating cereal, whatever the meal. But then there is soup. Throw all kinds of nutrition in a pot, cook it until it all blends together, and eat it for days on end. Colorful and healthy, delicious goodness.

* I used to love it, but I don’t eat it anymore…

Vienna sausages. Usually, we were with our Daddy when we ate them, and love them is probably a gross overstatement, but today they scare me a bit. Would I like them if I ate them again? I probably won’t find out.

*The most vivid memory from (Nana’s) grandma’s kitchen:

Sunday dinner, with the whole family. Remember the crowd consisted of Grandma & Grandpa, ten children, their spouses, and a whole lot of grandkids, and anyone else we brought along. The house seemed huge then, but now I realize it really wasn’t. We started to fill our plates from the dining room table that had dishes everywhere, then made our way to the kitchen where the counters and the stove were full of even more food.

We sat anywhere we could find a place — around the tables of food, in the living room, on the large front porch, and even in the yard.

I remember the first time my best friend came to a family dinner with me. She was from a very small family. As she heard the boisterous crowd and saw everyone fill their plates, her eyes got so big. She said she had never seen that much food or people eat that much. My younger uncles were all tall and muscular and required a lot of food. That was the first time I realized that possibly my family may be a bit different from other families.

My Grandma and Grandpa gave us such strong roots and many memories. While they have been gone many years, those of us who are still alive are close even today. Though that old house has been sold, and family dinners for all don’t happen often, even now our roots pass through Grandma’s kitchen.

Thanks to Stephen Dalton for the challenge. If you accept the challenge, tag me, and tag others to carry it on. I tag Kristie Darling, Kristi Keller, Tommy Ueland (if you want another break from your break), Tina L. Smith, Bebe Nicholson, Chuck Roast, and Genius Turner. Copy the subtitles/questions I used above and share your own childhood memories. Consider yourself gently nudged, with a “How was it for you?”, but never feel pressured!

Here is Stephen’s response.

Kim McKinney is fortunate was born into an amazing and close family. She was raised with humor and community and goodness, and a whole lot of delicious home-cooked food.