Cooking my mother...time travelling through food

 A bit of context: personal, historical and gastronomical! Dad is the son and grandson of miners in County Durham; passing the 11 plus, he went to grammar school and then to University, training as a civil engineer. Mum was born in Somerset, and left school to work in the bank. Mum and dad met when dad joined a major civil engineering firm and went to take charge of a small part of a big project in Somerset. As well as wanting to succeed in work, he wanted to meet girls, so he and a friend joined the Young Conservatives there, and went on an outing to a BBQ. Also on that outing was my mum and one of her friends...and so mum and dad started dating. After a time they talked about getting engaged, but dad was offered the chance to work in Fiji, and so they decided that dad should take up the offer, and they would get engaged when he got home, which they did. They married in June 1960, and spent some time in West Africa as well as the UK. Mum remembered dad had a more cosmopolitan approach

 Probably I ought to explain the title of the blog? To be honest, I’m fairly certain I ought to, or risk possible arrest... In February this year (2021) my mum passed away (honestly, I’m explaining the title, not confessing something awful...) and during the grief and sorrow, of missing mum but looking after dad, and cooking in mum’s kitchen, I realised that the place I most missed mum was in that kitchen. Every where I looked was something that she had taught me to use, or a place I would sit or stand while she cooked and I watched or both of us cooked together, or her recipe books and folders of dishes that were part of her repertoire and had become part of mine. So I started to look properly through her books and folders, and pulled out one that I’d been aware of, but hadn’t fully explored: her dinner party planner. She and dad had always had people round to dinner, and been to friends’ houses, but I hadn’t seen the whole picture. Mum had kept a dinner party planner, not just occasi

 So, I’m setting up a blog...the aim is to tell the story of what I’m experimenting with, but more of that later. This is just about the blog process: which is a bit trial and error so far. I’ve possibly set it up right (who knows?) so I’m experimenting with adding information and photos!