When I was a little girl, my mom cooked every meal, and I loved helping her. My jobs were peeling, mixing and stirring. Cooking was always a fun activity. My mom was a divorced, working mom, so she had to plan her menus ahead of time each week. She had a few favorites that were always in regular rotation. Occasionally I got tired of eating the same things each week, but as I grew older, I began to realize that my mom’s “regulars”… well, they were our comfort foods. They made us feel good.
When I was in college, whatever tough stuff I was going through, I’d look forward to coming home for a visit, when my mom would have something “familiar” to eat. Even just a plate of freshly fried chicken cutlets in the fridge. Or a lasagna casserole. The foods I grew up with always made me truly feel like I was home.
I remember when I graduated college and moved into my own apartment, each time I would go back home, I would walk into the house filled with the aroma of my mom’s cooking. When I realized how awesome my mom’s cooking always made me feel, I began to collect all her recipes. I now have an awesome recipe book!
So, fast forward 15 years… a few weeks ago when my kids and I went to my mom’s house and she had a huge pot of homemade chicken noodle soup simmering on the stove, I was instantly brought back to my childhood. Helping my mom chop the veggies, and smelling the aroma on a cold winter day. YUM. My 8 year old daughter tried grandma’s soup that day for the very first time and she just loved it.
So today, a cold and very snowy, New England day, I decided to revisit my childhood, and make a giant pot of “Mom’s Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup”. My mom’s recipe, which I followed step-by-step. And I now know by-heart. It’s a pretty simple recipe, but a delicious one. And when my daughter walked in the house after school… I was rewarded when she yelled – “YUM, IT SMELLS LIKE GRANDMA’S HOUSE”. And that was the moment I realized the true meaning of the word “tradition” and “family”.
Passed on down the generations. It doesn’t matter what it is. All that matters is that it reminds us of our childhood. And our family. And it makes us feel good.
I hope my daughter collects my recipes one day, just like I collected my mom’s…. and she passes the tradition on to her kids. And then my mom’s chicken noodle soup will last for generations.
For anyone who wants to share our tradition… here’s my mom’s DELICIOUS chicken noodle soup recipe.
#familytraditions #chickennoodlesoup #yum