I know, I know, the world does not need another food blog! I can assure you that it is not my intention to help you eliminate gluten from your diet or find your inner locavore. Nor do I have any desire to preserve an account of my challenges and triumphs cooking within the constraints of a Norwegian pantry. Moreover, I can’t even boast of any special aptitude when it comes to food photography. So why does this site exist?

My father entrusted me with a family treasure—my mother’s recipe box—but it came with the condition that I share its wisdom with my brother and the friends and family who still remember signature dishes like Mutha Fletch’s Green Goddess Salad Dressing and Faerie Yum-Yum (recipes coming soon).

The original plan was to distribute copies of the recipe cards, but it soon became clear that a certain amount of intuition is required to achieve their gastronomic delights. Most of the recipes are pretty vague when it comes to directions, while others require ingredients that have long since gone out of fashion (like the meatloaf recipe, which calls for MSG). So into the kitchen I went to experiment with ways of improving the recipes and standardizing their format.

By the time a recipe makes it to this web site I have made it several times with consistently good results. I have taken a few liberties here and there by updating some ingredients for a 21st century palate. In spite of that, these recipes represent the food I grew up on: simple fare made by a stay-at-home mom and busy volunteer.

Use the search box and menu items at the top of the page to browse the collection of main dishes, side dishes, desserts and snacks. On those archive pages you will also find links to the most recent recipes I have edited. At the bottom of every recipe is a print tool that will let you remove extraneous text and images, and print only what you want. Be sure to check out this video tutorial if you plan to do lots of printing.

My ambition is to post one or two newly polished recipes every month and when I make through all of the original recipes in my mother’s recipe box, I promise to stop blogging!