Informant: Shelley Monks
Location: Monks Family Cookbook
Date collected: January 25 2014
Oatmeal Cookies from the Past
The above recipe has been one of my favorite cookie recipes since a young age. It has been in my mother's cookbook ever since my parents were married twenty five years years ago. The family recipe actually came from my father's older cousin Kim Sadowski. She gave the recipe to my mother as part of a wedding gift along with many other recipes. She is an amazing cook and her specialities range from Hawaiian cuisine to the ordinary chocolate chip cookie. Not only is Kim an amazing cook, but she also loves sharing her talent with others.
It seems whenever my family visits her home no one leaves without a full stomach and a bag of goodies for the ride home. My father believes his cousin's love to help and give to others came from my grandmother. My grandma Artha helped raise her younger cousin Kim over many summers and taught her many life skills, one of those being cooking.
The fact that my grandmother taught Kim how to cook makes this recipe and all of Kim's recipes more meaningful to me. My grandmother died at 42 from breast cancer so the only thing I have from her are stories and her old possessions. Her cooking skills were passed on as well through Kim so in a way when I bake her food It is almost as if my grandma made the cookies with me. Not only does this recipe come from my grandmother, but also the skills of cooking that continues to be passed down.
