Introduction

When Mel finished this labor of love I told her she needed to do an “Introduction” to thank the recipe providers and to explain a little about this recipe book. She accused me of being a better writer and asked if I would do this. After a brief “discussion” it was decided that the intro would be done by me, although I still think that after all the work she put into it, she should have done this. So, humbly, my intro to Mel’s cookbook, “A Blended Family Cookbook.”

First, I would be remiss to not offer up the “thank you’s” to those family members without which there would be no cookbook. These fine ladies gathered their recipes on index cards, sheets of paper, newspaper and magazine clippings and many other typed, hand written and scribbled notes. They were passed down, with love, and ended up in the hands of a very capable, lover of cooking, Melanie Maurer. So, for her many weeks of putting this together and her lifetime of baking and cooking (so that every person who tastes her food asks for the recipe) the biggest thanks go out to my beautiful wife, Mel. The recipes come from the files and hearts of: Lovey Hussey, Mel’s mother; Mildred Wiggins, Mel’s maternal grandmother; Alma Hussey, Mel’s paternal grandmother; and my grandmother, Myrtle Maurer. To these grand matrons of our blended family, we owe this cookbook and eternal gratitude for passing these recipes down so that they may be enjoyed by generations to come.

Now a few words about the enclosed recipes: they were collected by the people mentioned where names were available. The names in parentheses are the collection they came from and when known, the original person who passed on the recipe is given credit at the beginning of each recipe title. The majority of them were collected by our grandmothers from their family and friends, fellow church members and associates. So, although this is a blended family cookbook of Mel and my families, there are many other families represented here. So please, cook, bake, eat and enjoy!

                                                                                                            -Gary Maurer