Old World meets New Millennium

Dear Grandma,

I can’t help but wonder what you would be thinking. Maybe it’s the aroma, or the salt. Maybe it is the salt … I never use salt when I cook, except when I make this. Standing here over the stove mixing up the old-world flavor your mother taught you creates a movie in my mind.

There you are in our kitchen in Ohio. You and Grandpa would come for a week or so at a stretch. He would do our chores for us and you would cook. You would cook foods Mom loved but didn’t know how to make. You would bake cookies whose names we couldn’t pronounce and they would be devoured before they had even cooled off. Mom would always have a shelf cleared out in her big freezer, but it was crammed by the time you left.

I should have paid better attention.

If I had, I would be able to make my own pierogi or my own ruus-chee-kee. (I might even know how to spell it!) Oh they were so good. We were little. We couldn’t say the name. So when you were making your cooking plan we would just twist our fingers together and plead: “Grandma! Make some of these!”

The dough was rolled thin and cut into strips. Then a tiny slit was made in the middle and they were tied through themselves, fried and coated in powder sugar. Oh! To be a kid again!

But this recipe on the stove … it’s the one of yours I make. It’s the one my daughter loves. And it’s the one that’s had to make the move from Old World to New Millennium. Gram, I just can’t bear to scald, trim, stuff, roll. Aaack. The mess. The smell. The water everywhere. Gram, I had to find an easier way! Even today, when I couldn’t find the cleaned, shredded coleslaw mix at the store and had to actually cut up a head of cabbage I was like THIS IS TOO MUCH WORK!

But when we sat down at the table and everybody ate without having to pick things apart I knew you wouldn’t mind what I’d done to this old recipe. Everybody ate … that’s what mattered. And the leftovers made the trek to school in the kids’ thermal cups, perfect for a couple of days when it hasn’t even hit 20 degrees.

So here’s your recipe, in your own hand.

I think everybody has a recipe from their grandma. Some, like Smith-Frye College Fudge, are very hard to put to modern shortcuts. (All the recipes I have in my other grandma’s handwriting are for desserts. This is no surprise for anyone who knew her. LOL!) Others, like this or Hubby’s grandma’s stuffed peppers, are allowed to endure. Here’s my New Millennium improv.

2 lbs. ground beef
6 cups cooked white rice
1 15-oz. can Petite Diced Tomatoes
1 medium onion chopped fine
1 package pre-washed shredded cabbage or coleslaw mix
1 stick of butter or margarine
Salt (Ha!)

Brown ground beef and drain off any grease. Stir in rice and tomatoes and salt to taste. Melt butter in another pan and sautee cabbage and onions until vegetables are tender.

I think you would be surprised how good it tastes in pieces, Gram. I think you would be surprised how fast it disappears. I think you would be surprised by the price of cabbage! I miss you.

Love, Laura