N is for Nieces and Nephews... and Nostalgia!

I am genuinely blessed in the nieces and nephews department with 9 nieces, 8 nephews and, at last count, 10 greats! It was for them that I decided to write Fry Bacon. Add Onions: The Valentine Family & Friends Cookbook. Because families have become so scattered in recent decades there isn't the sense of "family" that was once an everyday part of many people's lives. Fry Bacon. Add Onions contains nearly 400 recipes gathered from 6 generations of my family. It also has dozens of black and white photographs, some going back to the 1800s. It also has a collection of "stories" -- memories that have been in my family for a long time.


Though this is a cookbook/memoir about MY family it could be the story of any immigrant family. There are memories of old family customs and traditions and of people long gone but whose lives add color and dimension to who we are now.


I'd love to see more families create cookbook/memoirs to celebrate their own heritage. I think it is a beautiful thing and it is something to pass on to young family members. I cannot help but think that someday one of my great-nieces or nephews will give a copy to their child on his/her wedding day and say, "My Great-Aunt made this, I remember her. She was a character."

This blog post is part of the April 2012 A-to-Z Blogging Challenge. Thanks for visiting.