I am lucky to be able to remember far back into my childhood, my babyhood even because I can remember being in my pram at about a year old! From my first memories I can remember being in our kitchen while my mum, Monica, cooked. She was a great baker and the Be-Ro cookery book was her Bible, along with Mrs Beeton, of course. Mum told me that her mother, my grandma Ida had had a copy of this little book, and as a child Monica had thought the little girl on the front was her.
As soon as I started living on my own I started cooking, I think the first thing I made was a walnut cake, I’m not sure I used a Be-Ro book, but I remembered the method exactly having watched and helped Monica so many times when I was little.
This edition is the 17th reprint, I now have the 32nd and use it so often I’m on my second copy and in need of a third! I still use Be-Ro flour, I still think it’s the best, and I wonder if either of my children will follow the tradition?
Wholesome, simple and economical, how true!!
Lois Elsden 
Not sure my kids would want to follow in my cooking steps I’m about as imaginative as dog food with my meals! But I did make sure they had real food and it has at least inspired them to cook their own meals as they became older rather than always reach for the dreaded Pot Noodles. My eldest is now a better cook than me. And my youngest has requested a scrap book of our favourite family meal recipes to take to Uni with her. So I perhaps I wasn’t that bad!
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You must have done something right then, Ross! I made a family cook book a couple of years ago with lots of family favourites from my mum and my aunty – all the family have a copy now!
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I enjoy cooking quite a bit and also learned a lot from watching my mom. When I first moved out on my own, I called her a lot for recipes. Since then, I’ve discovered the Food Network, lol, and I’m always experimenting on my poor husband. I wonder if my daughter will some day emulate my cooking as I emulated my own mother?
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I hope so, Dana, there is something quite magical about recipes handed down through the generations, isn’t there?
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I too have enjoyed cooking through the years. Enjoyed your little story. How wonderful you have such an early memory. I use to make cakes at a very early age. I use to mix them till my Mom thought the mixer would start to smoke but oh, were they good. We also have a wonderful collection of family recipes.
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Marvellous, Barbro! family recipes are just the best!
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Reblogged this on Lois Elsden and commented:
I’ve added some extra pictures, as well as making sure all the others are visible!
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