There was an old TV show “I Remember Mama” and the
idea of a smell linked to a memory brings that to mind and
my mama! A great cook who combined comfort foods and
wonderful flavors with love means smells from mama’s
kitchen was like being wrapped in a warm hug from mama!

To me, the smell of roast beef cooking will forever be
linked to my mama and her homemade noodles!
All of my early life, family gatherings meant homemade
noodles and roast beef. Oh, those noodles and that rich
brown gravy . . . one of my brothers told his future wife
that a requirement of getting married was that she had to
learn to make mama’s homemade noodles – she did and
they have been married for over 50 years!!!

Homemade noodles and amazing bread were my grandma’s
specialities, so family gatherings at my grandma’s for the
holidays always meant fun and laughter around a table of
roast beef and homemade noodles— and grandma taught
my mama and my mama taught me, my daughter, and the
wife of one of my brothers, so the tradition goes on.
In my family, you will always get an overwhelmingly
LOUD enthusiastic cheer if you mention that you are fixing
mama’s homemade noodles.

It is work – oh, yeah – AND it is LOVE.
And then there is mama’s homemade pizza, another
family tradition. Every Saturday, our family gathered in
the kitchen to help make pizza! As we got older, each of
kids were assigned a task appropriate to our age and
ability. What “FUN” I remember as we each felt
such a part of this special time, sharing and working
together to make the pizza we would all indulge in later as
we watched a movie together – YUMMY! A special family
time of being a part of making something we would all
enjoy together . . . it really didn’t feel like work,
but it did feel like being wrapped in aromas of LOVE!

Did I mention
my memory linked to a smell is LOVE?
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