Grandma Herd's Cookbook

I watched an episode of Master Chef the Professionals on line today. It reminded me of all the things that I love and loath about the restaurant industry. I do confess that there are times that I really miss cooking, then I slap myself back into reality. Returning to the job that wrecked my body is not an option, so now I enjoy cooking for friends and family. The program that I watched was an elimination challenge where they were asked to cook a dish that represented them, their cultural background and why they cook. The dish that won the 'dish of the day' was a lentil soup. I won't go into what I thought of the looser, with his totally unprofessional lack of any form of grace! But why should something just because it is simple not be voted the best? We all have good memories of the food of our childhood and carry that with us for the rest of our lives. About eighteen months ago I went to my Grandparents farm to scan my Grandmothers cookbook as it is still kept in the same drawer even though she passed away in 1977. My Father was born in the room on the left 100 years ago last April. Part of the farm is still in the family so I am privileged to be able to still go back to a place that has never really changed in my lifetime.

My Father always said that Grandma was a wonderful cook as she could make a meal out of nothing, because that is what they often had, meaning nothing much. Grandma would cook stinging nettles collected from the sheep yards for greens if there was nothing else in the garden. Limited water meant that it was difficult to keep a summer garden even though there were 7 children to feed. Seasonal crops were preserved to use in times when food was scarce. Now supermarkets are full to the brim with whatever we want.

Many families would have a treasured recipe book just like this one. Hand written with the name of the family member or friend who shared the recipe. I wonder how many people write recipe's now?  Sadly with younger people the computer has taken over and very few bother to write. A recipe book is a lifelong labor of love in my opinion.
I have a recipe for a wonderful lentil soup and there is some of my spinach that I froze in the freezer so I think that I will go and make it now.