The food that we make and share as a family is part of our heritage. As a wedding gift to my cousins in California, I wanted to share with them the Leonard heritage in the form of recipes - from Cape Breton, from Nova Scotia, and from Canada. This gift comes from myself and my Holmes-Hayden family, but also from my mother, known to my cousins as Aunt Verna (my mother's maiden name was Leonard).
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| A family dinner at 32 St Peter's Road, Sydney, Nova Scotia, 1966 Clockwise from the left: John Leonard, Poppy, Aunt Mary, Verna (my mom), Aunt Edna, and in front Nana |
My grandparents, Charlie and Rowena Leonard, had nine grandchildren and we all called them Nana and Poppy (or Pop). The youngest of those grandchildren were my Aunt Edna's children Alyson and James (Edna was fourteen years younger than my mom). Alyson and James Bingham were also the last of my cousins to get married; James and his wife Daniella were married not long after my mother died, and Alyson married James Brandle this past summer.
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| James and Alyson Bingham with Pop at St Peter's Road |
Mom tried to stay very involved in the lives of her seven nieces and nephews. Even though her younger sister Edna lived in California, Mom tried to visit and be there for special occasions like graduations. She no doubt would have wanted to be there for the weddings.
When James and Daniella were married I had this idea to organize and share with them recipes from my mother and grandmother. Shortly after their wedding I became very ill and unfortunately the project got dropped. This past summer, when James' older sister Alyson got married, I decided to unearth this project and give it a second try.
When I first asked relatives to send me some family recipes Aunt Ruth sent some index cards with recipes, and in brackets Aunt Ruth wrote, "A Leonard favourite." So I have to credit her as the inspiration for the name of this blog. Along with Ruth's recipes there were a few blue recipe cards that were originally Nana's, in her own handwriting. I was very touched to receive those but felt that I should somehow share those with all of my cousins.
When I recently decided to revisit this idea, Ruth also sent me Nana's original cookbook, which had a lot of writing on the inside covers. Mom once told me that Nana didn't know how to cook a thing when she first got married, so I suspect that explains why this cookbook is so well-worn. Many of the handwritten recipes just had ingredients, and an oven setting (low, moderate or hot) so Aunt Ruth has been answering lots of my questions as I have been working on deciphering the recipes and writing instructions.
In 1999 Mom gave all of the Leonards copies of her research on the family tree, which she called "Leonard Family and Descendants 1700-2000," as well as copies of the "Leonard Family Tales" - her stories about the lives of she and her two younger brothers, Harry and Walter, and her sister Edna. Before she died she also told me that she wanted each of her nieces and nephews to have one of her paintings. So in keeping with Mom's example, it seemed appropriate that a wedding gift for our youngest cousins would be family recipes - and some stories and photos thrown into the mix. Rather than writing the recipes on index cards, I thought a blog would be the best way to share them. It's also a little less overwhelming if I work on it one recipe at a time. My goal is to test these recipes, write instructions, take photos, and post it on the blog. Stay tuned for bread, brownies, birthday cakes, and more.
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| Me making what looks like dinner rolls (probably two years old, based on the haircut) |
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| Mitchell and Taylor making gingerbread cookies for Christmas (26-months-old) |
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