She would take us walking on the railroad tracks where we used to find "treasure" and she would play penny poker with us. Yes, a poker playing grandma. She also had a dollhouse for us to play with that was complete with mini rolls of toilet paper.
The evenings at her house would almost always end in front of the TV watching a Shirley Temple movie, while eating a big bowl of popcorn filled with green apple slices and chunks of caramel. I would regret it if I didn't also mention how she used to hold a flash light up to her face at night and pop her dentures out. Like I said, she was a chracter.
As a teenager Grandma Mae was just as fun unless you left your bedroom door open and she decided to clean your room. Pray that you had no notes for her to find. I'll never forget when she found my training bra. It was like a scene out of the movie Sixteen Candles. Yikes! Oh, and one time she made a left hand turn too early and just decided to drive on the wrong side of the road until she got to the correct turn. Double yikes!
What I remember most, besides her crazy antics, is her baking. She could bake like no one else I have EVER known. Pies, cookies, turkey dinners you name it. She even made her own salami. The salami had mustard seeds in it that would crunch in your mouth and release their flavor on impact. I wish I had that recipe. This was a woman who knew her way around a kitchen. If you have ever seen the cooking show Two Fat Ladies then you can imagine a bit of what my grandma was like.
So, when I bake I think of her. How could I not. I hope that I honor her memory well when I am in the kitchen.
Grandma Mae these are for you.
Fresh French Bread
Apple Pie from my Le Cordon Bleu Professional Baking Book
