Granny, grandma, grandmother, nana, nona. Whatever you called her we are celebrating her and time honored traditions this week. For us at MDF, our grandmas centered around cooking, eating and family. Their recipes were always lovingly prepared and harken back to a simpler time. Everything depended on what was at hand, available and fresh in the garden and nothing was ever wasted. No shortcuts were ever taken and many of the meals we have all grown so fond of, came out of the kitchen because of necessity to stretch a meal or a dollar.
Our grandmothers stories, recipes and wonderful anecdotes enriched our lives and awakened our love for food and feeding people.
Over the coming days we will share with you some charming stories, treasured family recipes, steeped in tradition and what we like to call “grandma-isms or our version of grandma sayings.” We would love to hear about your grandmother. What do you remember about her? Do you make recipes that she made for you as a child? Please connect with us in the comments section or on our Facebook page.
vintage place mat photo by Bob’s Your Uncle
Modern Day Forager
Modern Day Forager 
my grandmother always made goulash. it went around the table at least once and filled the belly’s of hungry kids who were playing outside all day. it usually consisted of ground meat, a can of veg-all, maybe some ketchup and about 42 bay leaves. it was awful. but what did we know? we were hungry and we sopped it up with white bread and butter. to this day, every time i add a single bay leaf to any dish i’m preparing, i always think of my grandmother. she lived 95 years and never varied that recipe.
I remember the veg-all being well used in one of my grandmas kitchens. It doesn’t even enter mine. One of them made her version of goulash but it usually consisted of whatever was leftover and she would turn it into a think soup. I don’t make that either.
I love this week’s theme! My grandmother was an avid cook, baker, canner, domestic wonder! She lived through the depression and I think that really changed her. I remember being so anxious to taste the batter from the bowl and beaters but she scraped what seemed like every last drop before handing them to us. I think of her every time I try to scrape the last bit of goodness out of something. She was also “green” before her time by reusing everything. I can really appreciate that in her now. Oh, I miss her!