Quail Run Ranch

We find cherished recipes while sorting through boxes…

A representative of Quail Run Ranch (me) recently visited relatives in the Chicago area. While there we went through boxes that my mom had brought with her from her home when she went to the nursing facility where she spent her final days. It was a walk down memory lane, sweet and bittersweet, a treasure trove of family memorabilia.

One of the most special things we found were old family recipes. I was surprised to see recipes that I was not familiar with along with the ones I was. I’m going to make my grandmother’s corn relish with my sister pretty soon. Grandma made the best corn relish on the planet, much, much better than store bought. I will share how we did it when we actually do it.

In the meantime, here are some particularly interesting old recipes from my grandmothers, uncles and aunts.

Voost a.k.a. Cow Sausage

This is what my great grandfather called it. “Voost”. And he was German through and through, an excellent farmer and wonderful person, so I’m told. I met him when I was a year old, so I remember the picture of my grandmother (his daughter) my mom and me very well but not him. Of course, there are not any measurements because he had the recipe in his head and knew how to make it by heart.

Barn Paint Recipe

My mom thought this was intriguing and it actually has amounts. It could work. Anyone want to paint their barn red? You might be able to do it on the cheap the way everything costs so much now. These ingredients wouldn’t be popular items.

D.M. stands for Des Moines Register, one of Iowa’s newspapers. My great grandfather lived near Cedar Falls, Iowa when he was a young man.

Uncle Jack’s Concord Grape Wine

I might actually try this. I have been very successful in rehabilitating our seedless red grape vines and last year I almost got tired of eating grapes or making raisins out of them.

Gramma’s Mayonnaise

I am going to make this. My aunt said that my grandmother would be preparing dinner and she would instruct one of her daughters to go into the kitchen and make this mayonnaise when it was almost dinnertime.

Pretty soon I will post more recipes. Our family loved food and the recipes reflect this love. What are your treasured family recipes?