No matter how old you are, there is always that one special dish that keeps us tied to Mom’s apron strings.
These are the dishes that immediately turn back decades of time to childhood memories of special-occasion dinners and holiday gatherings. They might be a comfort food Mom fixed when you were sick or had a bad day, or just a special treat, a surprise to show how much she loved her family.
“I was fortunate to have collaborated with my mother years ago in creating a family cookbook for a gift for her to give to family and friends one Christmas,” says Joe Jumper, owner of The Clay Pot in Riverview. “The cookbook includes many of Mother’s favorite recipes from her onion rings and fried squash to her zucchini bread. It’s truly a family treasure and each time I cook something from her cookbook it reminds me of her.”
The cookbook turned out to be a gift that kept on giving. Jumper says that, at his mother’s memorial service five years ago, the family made copies of the cookbook and gave one to each guest who attended.
Jumper was among Facebook readers who responded when asked what was their favorite Mom-made dish that they still make today because it reminds them of her. With Mother’s Day coming up on May 8, it seemed reasonable to assume that thoughts of Mom and her meals would be fresh on the minds of many. They were.