 |
| Buffalo NY area received a years worth of snow in one storm ~ Nov. 19, 2014 |
OK, so a dusting and cold temps aren't so bad. The poor people in the Buffalo New York area have been devastated by a lake effect snow storm that dumped 6' of snow on them with another storm ready to hit them which may dump another 2-3' on top of that! Please keep these people in your prayers as they dig out of this mess.
Memories of my Grandmothers
 |
| Mom, Aunt Kathy & Grandma Kirch |
I never met my grandma Inez and grandpa Merle Brooks or my grandpap Charles "Brownie" Shantz, they
passed away before I was born. Although my middle name is Charles after my grandpa
Shantz and I’m told that I also have his build and curly hair. I did however
know my grandma Virginia Kirch (my mom’s mom who had remarried). She was a feisty little red headed, blue eyed Irish dynamo
who had seven children including my mom. Her new husband never really filled the shoes of being my grandpa in fact he was kinda weird, but my Grandma more than made up for that.
Grandma Kirch loved birthdays and made sure
that everyone celebrated their birthdays with a bag
full of gifts and a HUGE strawberry pie that she had made especially for you. She
worked at Eat 'n Park in Dormont making pies and she would always pick the biggest
strawberries for the pies for her family. My mom continued the tradition of
birthdays being a big deal and was always known to either host the party or show up with a big bag of gifts
when someone’s birthday came around.
Another memory of Grandma Kirch was coffee
with Cremora creamer. (she allowed me to drink coffee). She also made the best beef gravy ever. No one has ever matched it. Another thing that I LOVED as a kid was when my mom would make her mother's cupcakes, simply called "Mom's Heavy Cupcakes". They were a very rich dark chocolate cake and she would remove the center from the top with a cut out tool and then put special icing in the middle of the cupcake and put the cutout on top like a cap! I was a huge hit at school when I brought those in. My friends STILL talk about those cupcakes. I'll never forget many years ago when my family was going on vacation and we stopped at a restaurant along the way. We all ate our food and the waitress suggested apple dumplings for dessert. We thought, what the heck, we're on vacation. As soon as we tasted the dumplings my mom said, do you have my mom baking back there? One time I was sleeping over my grandma's house and I was watching Tarzan on TV. She asked if I wanted something to drink and I asked her what she had. She mentioned a few different things, one of them being a beer. I said (jokingly) "I’ll have a beer." Boy was I shocked when she brought me one! I said :"I was only kidding grandma" and she said a beer is better for you than pop. That stuff eats the rust off of bumpers! I ended up drinking milk.
She was tough but but the chemo she had to go through for breast and ovarian cancer was more than she could take. She fought a good fight but being in such a weakened state she ended up having a stroke. Looking back in a way it may have been a blessing for me because I got to see my grandmother in a totally different light. A softer, gentler woman. I remember being her hands, as we would bake
pies together. She taught me all of her tricks of the trade including putting
tapioca on the bottom of the pie crust before adding the filling. She was so sweet and patient with me. She even said she loved me which was a word she rarely used. I will always have special
memories of her.
 |
| Grandma Annie |
Now you would think that with four grandparents already accounted for that would be all. But I was fortunate to have another grandma. Grandma Shantz. Or known better to me as Grandma Annie. She was my Grandpap Brownie's second wife. When my mom's parents got divorced he married the next door neighbor, hmm nothing fishy there. Anyhow my grandma Annie was a remarkable woman. She was German and spoke with an accent. She was also an incredible baker, my grandpap Brownie must have loved sweets.
Although I didn't spend as much time with her any time we went to her house she was feeding us. She not only baked but loved to make all kinds of German foods and he house always smelled incredible. Grandma Annie lived to be 102 years old and I was excited to be able to have my quartet sing for her 100th birthday. After grandma Annie passed away my mom was given some personal affects of her dads and interestingly enough his social security card stated his name was Charles Sanca. This really came as a shock but made a little sense since we had a relative who lived in Alabama and his name was Richard Sanca. We're thinking that when the family came over from Czechoslovakia to America that there may have been some mispronouncing of their last name and some ended up Sanca and some Shantz.
I really feel bad that I never got to meet my grand parents on my dad's side and especially my grandpap Brownie since I hear that my brother and I have many of his traits. But I feel blessed to have had two great grandma's who were both amazing in their own ways and always made me feel loved and cared for.
In honor of my Grandmas
 |
| Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies |
Both of my grandmothers loved to bake and I guess passed down to my mom and now me. Although I enjoy baking all kinds of things my favorites are pies and cookies.
Here's a cookie that screams fall to me with a combination of Alpine Spiced Apple Cider Instant Drink Mix, Cinnamon and Caramels.
 |
| Apricot Filled Foldover Tea Cookies |
For the second cookie I decided to offer another fruit filled cookie. These Apricot Foldover Tea Cookies are delicate and delicious.
I have to get into my mom's old cook books to retrieve some of the old time recipes from not only my mom but from my grandmothers. This is the first time since my mom's passing that I've felt like baking again and I have a feeling we're going to have a lot of baked goods around the house for the holidays.
Finally a few fall pictures I've taken
Ron
No comments:
Post a Comment