Tressa & Trudy
Rustic with Grace
It’s a family thing.
Trudy (Mum) is my mother.
Grace (Nana) is Trudy’s mother and my grandmother.
Tressa (Great Nana) is Grace’s mother, Trudy’s grandmother and my great grandmother.
Robin. That’s me.
Mum taught me how to grow a garden and put food up. She also taught me to pick wild berries and mushrooms. Mum had a cold cellar in the corner of the basement. It was in a corner and had a window for heat/cool control. If it was too warm from the wood stove she could crack the window open and cool it down. Closing the door kept humidity in while the wood stove kept the rest of the basement dry and toasty. Mum kept huge shelves full of food. Had the apocalypse happened in the 70’s (think energy crisis) she’d have kept us fed for years.
Nana made bread every weekend. I watched at her elbow from the time I was tall enough to see over the counter. She never complained if I got in her way. Her bread board pulled out from under the counter top, and the flour bin tipped out from under the bread board. Her bread rose high and light, had wonderful texture and held the butter we slathered over every slice. She cooked breakfast and supper every single day, and sometimes she cooked lunch as well.
Great Nana Tressa owned the Red Rooster diner in Milford, Maine. I didn’t meet Nana Tressa but I feel as though I know her. She passed away five months before I was born. Knowing that I was on the way, she left her Depression glass to me. Fifty-four years later, I use pieces of it often.
See the theme from the women who came before me? Food. We feed people. It’s in our blood. It’s in our genes. It’s what we did, do and will continue to do. My daughters and sisters are wonderful cooks.
Tressa & Trudy – Rustic with Grace. It’s women’s work. It’s a family thing.
