As the holiday season is rapidly approaching, appointed family cooks everywhere will be turning to family favorite recipes in order to bring back that childhood nostalgia that we all know and love. Seasons may come and go, and relationships may rise and fall, but what will always be the center of everything in human culture is food. Learning to farm food is what allowed us to go from nomadic to established civilizations. Learning to make food that was high in fat allowed us to reach a point of food security. Now, learning recipes from those who came before will allow us to not only thrive physically, but within our very souls as well.
Andrea Brent, State Farm Insurance Agent and Los Banos native, recently responded to a Los Banos Enterprise Facebook post asking readers for their input. “What about a family recipe column? A story about the family and a multi-generational recipe or even your most popular one. We have some great cooks in town, and I’d love to hear about the recipes from old and new residents with all kinds of traditions and cultures.”
Andrea then went on to say, “Our family recipes are entwined with memories and traditions and should be cherished and shared. I think these types of stories would bring a community feel to the paper and would be something I would tune in to read every edition.” Luckily for us, she had a recipe in mind, “For example, my family makes Swedish pancakes. My great grandma was from Sweden. She taught my grandmother, who passed it down to my mom and my aunt and then to my cousins and me. My aunt taught the St. John’s parish who makes them for their annual Swedish dinner and fundraiser. A newer recipe would be my margarita one which we’ve updated over the last 30 years. It’s my most requested recipe and was present at almost every family events.”
When talking more about the importance of Swedish pancakes to her family, Andrea shared, “Mom made this for me four times a year and there was nothing better. She saved it for special occasions and just the thought of them makes me smile. My mom passed away 12 years ago and making these recipes always make me think of her and those special family times.”
As the holiday season progresses, the Los Banos Enterprise looks forward to sharing the Swedish pancake recipe, as well as many others, with the community. Once you break bread with someone, they are no longer a stranger, so let’s all get a little closer this holiday season.
