My Granny's cooking

I was recently given a copy of 'The Big Book of Best-Kept Secrets of the Women's Institute' which has a wonderful 249 pages of scrumptous recipes. My Granny was a member of the WI when she was a bit younger and I regularly hound her for her recipes but am never armed with pen and paper when I ask. She will generally be happy to tell me her recipes but whenever I ask she just jumps straight into it "you just mix 'x' amount of flour with so many eggs and a bit of sugar, bake it on ........ ". I tried baking one of her cakes recently and while it wasn't a complete disaster, it certainly was not near her standard. If I lived in England where she is, I would visit her with a watchful eye as she prepared dinner (although braver souls than I have tried to be anywhere near the kitchen when she is cooking)

My Granny is a famously good cook, and she should be too with so much practice. She and my Grandpa used to eat a set meal each night of the week. After many years of visits, my Dad can list off which meal would be cooked on any given night. He could time a visit based on what would be cooking and often talks of her braised steak and onions (truly it is something to behold - served with peas and chips). For my money, her meat and potato pie is the pinnacle of culinary joy, particularly with her deftness with shortcrust pastry and just the right amount of sugar in her mushy peas.

Sadly, after Grandpa died last year, she has little motivation to cook for herself now and is losing too much weight despite her doctor's insistence that she take better care of herself. Always such a strong and vital woman she is finding few joys in life following the loss of her dear love. They were truly a wonderful model of married life, he loved her so deeply and she him. A year shy of 60 years of marriage, they were well-settled in their lives together. Creatures of routine to the end, she has to go on alone now but he is still very much part of her days. I know she talks to him still and continues to wonder at his collection of miscellany that she views as hoarding. I know Grandpa in this way for I am just as he was - you never know when you might need it. She is taking her time with the task of sorting his things out and in this way he stays closer to her. She is however a practical woman and is trying to decide what to do with it all - I am sure that with time she will get through it all, when she is ready to.

While it will pale in comparison, I plan to make her meat and potato pie with peas next Sunday to mark a year since Grandpa's passing. There are some smells that bring them closer to me and it will be nice to have that in my kitchen next weekend when I am thinking of him. The smell of a fresh pot of tea with water boiled on a gas stove also brings their kitchen close to me, I think I will put on a brew now...