Traditions…..

I don't like to cook - and I certainly don't like to bake. Can't remember the last time I made any kind of cookies/cake/pie. Dave always said my brownies could be used as paving stones. OK….OK…. everyone has unique talents. Kitchen-related-anything is NOT one of mine.

I do make dinner for us most evenings and I do enjoy having people over for an easy meal. I have some delicious go-to-recipes that never fail. So it's not like I never cook….I just choose to do as little as possible.

Except for my mother's lemon bars. Those are in the oven. We leave tomorrow for Thanksgiving at my Cousin Claudia's farm….so the lemon bars are in the oven. I can smell the lovely citrus scent from the TV room. I can sense the memories flooding back.

My mom always made her famous lemon bars for her friends at a PEO meeting or church circle gathering. She made them for us when we'd visit from out-of-town. She made a pan to bring along for holiday gatherings. Lemon bars = Beth Clark = good times = delicious = love.

When mom died a few years ago it was my sister's idea to print out her recipe on happy yellow paper and have one at each place setting when we gathered for lunch after the memorial service at church.  She and her daughter baked pans of them to be served that day. It was amazing how many of the people attending came up to us to say: "These are just the way I remembered! They are wonderful!"

And as Susan wrote in the recipe, "If your batch is a little tart, that's perfect. Mom didn't like them too sweet."

Mine probably don't exactly equal my mom's - but still…..they are baking and the scent fills our condo. 2009 was the last Thanksgiving mom was at Claudia's and she brought them - this time it's on me.

Happy to do it, happy to remember.

:-)