1948

e & e may be in it's first year, but these recipes we use have a history. They were necessities in Grandma's family's pantry growing up, particularly our bread & butter pickles.

Bread & butter pickles received their name during the Great Depression, when meat and cheeses that would usually go into a sandwich were too expensive to eat everyday. Familes would resort to the English custom of a cucumber sandwich instead. Cucumbers were abundant in family gardens, but they produce too many vegetables to eat everyday. So, pickling became a way to preserve the cucumbers and stock up your pantry so you would have a surplus, especially during the winter months.

While growing up here in Klein, Texas Grandma had an aunt who lived across the street. Her name was Bertha Hassler, fondly refered to as "Bata." Grandma can't remember a time when she visited and there wasn't something delicious Bata had for them. Her homemade bread was a staple, but Grandma's favorites were her coffee cake and homemade donuts. In 1948, Bata wrote down her Bread & Butter Pickle recipe for Grandma. And yes, Grandma has kept it all these years!

I am so thankful Bata wrote this for grandma. It is treasure to have her recipe but also a piece of her handwriting. I also love that it is written on the back of a calender! Now we will always have the date. A Dr. Pepper calender too...what a good Texan.

I adore my grandmother's handwriting. It is so tiny and cute. Another project will be to have her and my other family members write down all their recipes for me so I have that memory preserved.