When we think of Great Grandma Sjaarda we remember her excellent board game skills, sharp memory of bible trivia and of course the yeast rolls she would make at every family gathering.
We both spent time working in my Grandma Phyllis Sjaarda’s (Sherry’s mom) restaurants kitchens sneaking in bits of cheese spread and nutcracker dessert.
Every year when we head to Christmas at Grandpa Hop’s we know that my Grandma Arla will have made “THE Butterfinger dessert”.
The Hoppen family dinners no matter if it’s burgers or Thanksgiving turkey, there better be Sherry’s corn pudding on the table and a 9X13 was never enough.
As we talked about these memories over the years we started to notice a trend that each memory we have is somehow tied back to the food we ate. A good recipe is a precious heirloom that is passed down from generation to generation and we have discovered that everyone in someway has their own special old family recipe.
One afternoon we had an idea, what if we created a space to share each other’s memories of food and tradition and the stories behind them that make them so special? It is our hope that we can gather a collection of all our friends’ traditions from all over the world together. When we cook a recipe that has been “passed down” to this blog that we think of the hearts behind it and the memories that you have that make it so special.
We would love to have you join this journey with us and if you feel compelled to share an old family recipe with us we would be honored to prepare and share the recipe. Please visit our submission page to send us a recipe. It is our hopes as well that you find a new favorite from a friend here.
Eat Smakelijk (that’s Dutch for enjoy your meal)
Sherry & Abby
About Sherry & Abby
Sherry and Abby are a mother – daughter duo in the West Michigan area of the United States. Both have grown up around fantastic home cooks and working in their families restaurants. Growing up there are recipes that are close to their hearts and etched in their memories, which have become the inspiration for this site.
Sherry’s heart is in Jamestown Michigan where she was born and raised. She and her husband Craig are empty nesters currently building their dream farmhouse together. Sherry founded the ministry She Surrenders and writes and speaks on Women’s Recovery issues. You can read more at shesurrenders.com. She is Executive Director of A Writing Conference as well. Out of all the hats she wears her best fit yet is being Grandma to her three beautiful grandsons.
Abby lives on a 12 acre hobby farm with her husband Joe, son Otto, 11 sheep, 6 chickens and 2 dogs. She loves antiquing and gardening and cooks fresh from her garden as long as the Michigan growing season allows her. She is part owner of The Found Cottage in Hudsonville, Michigan and writer and owner of AbigailAlbers.com a lifestyle blog about her life on the farm.
